Carlos Alcaraz shocked the tennis world recently when he split from his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. The timing couldn’t have been more unexpected – just weeks before the 2026 season kicks off.
The breakup wasn’t pretty either. Reports from Spain suggest the two had a major disagreement during contract negotiations. After seven years together, that’s got to sting.
Rick Macci, who coached Serena Williams back in the day, thinks Alcaraz made the right call.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
But not for the reasons you might expect.
“He made the right decision because it was His decision,” Macci explained. “The past success was an amazing win/win. The player has to feel it to deal it. Carlos has his reasons to change the channel as he is the one with the remote control.”
Macci’s basically saying it doesn’t matter if Ferrero was a good coach or not. What matters is that Alcaraz took control of his own career.
That’s pretty huge for a 22-year-old, even one who’s already won multiple Grand Slams.
The cracks in their relationship were actually visible for a while. If you’ve watched Alcaraz’s Netflix documentary "Carlos Alcaraz: My Way," you could see the tension between him and Ferrero. They clearly had different ideas about how Carlos should approach the game.
Freedom vs. Structure
Macci thinks the split comes down to freedom. Alcaraz wanted more control over his career and who he pays to be on his team.
“Many people are stunned by the Alcaraz coaching change. When you’re number one and have been with someone for 7 years, and unplug the main guy, everybody should be jolted,” Macci said. “He has two coaches and Carlos wants more freedom and overall say who he is going to pay.”
That makes sense when you think about it. Alcaraz isn’t some up-and-coming player anymore – he’s the world No. 1. Why shouldn’t he have the final say in who’s coaching him?
Samuel Lopez, Alcaraz’s other coach, will step in temporarily as head coach. But Spanish reports suggest this is just a short-term fix while Carlos looks for someone permanent.
The Creative Genius Problem
Here’s the thing about coaching Alcaraz – it’s probably one of the trickiest jobs in tennis.
The guy is absolutely electric on court. He hits shots that make other players shake their heads in disbelief. Sometimes he goes for winners that seem impossible, and somehow he pulls them off.
But that creativity can drive coaches crazy. When do you tell a genius to play it safe?
Macci knows this struggle all too well from his coaching days.
“Coaching someone like Carlos cuts both ways. You have to let him use his imagination, but cannot say it is low % if he misses. Fine line between courage and stupidity. The Spanish Magician genius has landed him in the pole position.”
It’s a balancing act that few coaches can handle. You want to give Alcaraz the freedom to be brilliant, but you also don’t want him throwing away points on crazy shots.
Maybe that’s exactly why this split happened. After seven years, Ferrero might have been pushing for more structure while Alcaraz wanted to keep playing his natural, instinctive game.
What’s Next?
The big question now is whether this decision will hurt or help Alcaraz as he heads into the Australian Open. Some experts think losing Ferrero right before a major tournament could be disastrous.
Others believe it might actually free Alcaraz up to play even better.
Either way, it’s going to be fascinating to watch how this plays out. When you’re dealing with a player as talented and unpredictable as Alcaraz, conventional wisdom doesn’t always apply.
The Spanish superstar has always done things his way – and now he’s proven he’s willing to make the tough decisions to keep it that way.
