The former coach of the world number 1: “If we had sat down to talk, maybe we would have moved forward, but in the end we didn’t.”

Regret over how things ended with Carlos Alcaraz and a nod to his great rival Sinner. “Coaching Jannik? You never know, but I’d have to think about it.” Carlos Ferrero breaks his silence a few days after parting ways with his protégé, the world number one, and his words clearly show that he did not want the story with the Murcian to end this way. It was a bolt from the blue, coming out of the blue. Ferrero spoke in an interview with Marca, in which he reconstructed the reasons for the farewell: “Everything seemed to be going well. It’s true that when a year ends, certain things have to be reviewed with regard to contracts, as we have always done. Carlos’ team thinks about what is best for him and mine thinks about what is best for me,“ said Ferrero. ”There were some issues on which both sides disagreed. Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end we didn’t and decided not to continue.”

No signs, then, of any disagreement before the farewell. Words that smack of a quarrel, of something that has broken and neither of them was ready to repair. Perhaps mischievously, and given that 2026 may be Sinner’s last year with Darren Cahill, Ferrero was asked about the possibility of one day coaching the Italian star: “It’s something I would have to think about. They are extraordinary players, but as I said before, this is not the time to think about something like that and say yes or no. Now is the time to get through this difficult period, because I still think about Carlos every day and it’s not the time to think about others. It wouldn’t be easy. I adapted my style to suit Alcaraz. At the moment, I’m not considering other options: I’ve had offers, but I’ve turned them down. Now I need two or three months to find peace of mind.” Ferrero seems genuinely saddened by how things ended with Alcaraz, but he doesn’t hold too much grudge against his replacement, Samu Lopez, with whom he shared the ATP Coach of the Year award just a few days earlier. “It would have been a bit selfish to ask him to stay at the academy and give up. I thought about his family and the career he could have. He has already worked with this type of player, and 2025 prepared him for what he will have to do this year. Alcaraz doesn’t necessarily need a big name or a Slam champion, also because he has already experienced certain situations, but he needs to be with someone he feels comfortable with, who instills confidence, values, and hard work in him, and Samu can be that person.”