Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t brought anyone new onto his team since Juan Carlos Ferrero left last month. Instead, he’s doing something pretty unexpected.
His brother Alvaro is stepping up to play a much bigger role.
Ferrero had been Alcaraz’s coach and mentor since 2019 before his shocking exit. Usually when someone that important leaves a player’s team, they hire a big name to fill the gap.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
But Alcaraz is going a different route.
He’s putting his trust in the people already around him, especially Samuel Lopez. Lopez was Alcaraz’s co-coach last year and has already coached him solo at a few tournaments in 2025.
At a recent Australian Open press conference, the six-time Grand Slam champion explained his decision.
Brother knows best
Alvaro has been helping Carlos behind the scenes for a while now, but this makes it official.
"My brother is a very important person in my personal and professional life. He brings me many positive things that I need to perform better and well on the court and in tournaments. Now he’s going to take on more prominence alongside Samu."
The world No. 1 clearly trusts his brother’s tennis knowledge.
"He knows how we operate and how the tour works, and he knows a ton about tennis. Sometimes, he has opinions and a way of seeing things that bring a lot to me and to Samu. Happy to see him in the box, even more involved, and he brings me a lot."
It’s a pretty bold move, though.
Alvaro doesn’t have any top-level coaching experience. Supporting someone like Lopez, who’s already proven at the highest level, will definitely be an adjustment.
Alcaraz’s comments leave things a bit open-ended too. It’s not totally clear whether Alvaro will be equal to Lopez or more of a secondary voice.
Either way, it’s a big responsibility for someone who was giving his famous brother bad haircuts just a few months ago at the 2025 US Open.
The Federer option that never was
When Ferrero first left, tennis experts had some pretty wild ideas about who should replace him.
Mats Wilander thought Roger Federer would be perfect for the job. The idea made sense – who better to understand the pressure of being at the top than someone who’d been there for years?
An Alcaraz-Federer partnership would’ve been absolutely massive for tennis.
But Federer shut that down pretty quickly. The 20-time Grand Slam champion made it clear he’s not interested in coaching right now. He’s focused on being a dad and enjoying retirement after ending his career at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Federer did say he’d be happy to give Alcaraz advice if asked.
The comparison between the two makes sense. Alcaraz has that same complete game style and is probably the most exciting player to watch on tour right now.
But for now, he’s keeping things in the family. Whether that pays off remains to be seen as the new season gets underway.
