In the aftermath of one of the most talked-about tennis breakups in tennis history, Juan Carlos Ferrero opened up about his parting of ways with Carlos Alcaraz, the man he guided to six major titles and the No.1 ranking.
In an interview with Marca, Ferrero was quick to say that money wasn’t the issue, and he was careful not to reveal too much about how and why exactly the negotiations broke down.
No matter how it went down, the sudden split has left Ferrero saddened.
“Everything seemed to be going well,” he told Marca. “It’s true that when a year ends, certain things need to be reviewed regarding contracts. And as with any new contract, looking ahead to the following year, there were certain things we disagreed on. As with all contracts, one side pulls in one direction and the other in another.
“Carlos’s camp thinks about what’s best for him, and mine thinks about what’s best for me. There were certain issues on which both parties disagreed. Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end, we didn’t, and we decided not to continue. That’s really what happened. There are points I won’t go into detail about, but we disagreed on them, and ultimately, we went our separate ways.
At this point, no successor to Ferrero has been named. Alcaraz will continue working with Samuel Lopez, who joined the team last year. Ferrero says he has no plans to coach anyone else in the immediate future.
“I think maybe we both need some time to fully process this breakup,” he said. “It’s not so easy. Right now, I’m hurting. These kinds of relationships are difficult to end overnight.
“In the end, it’s a long-standing relationship where we’ve been through a lot together, and you develop a strong bond. We had this emotional connection during training, and we experienced every important situation that arose with him in tournaments very intensely. In the end, everything has been turned upside down.”
