‘He has been difficult to work with lately’: Former World No.1 reveals reason behind Carlos Alcaraz-Juan Carlos Ferrero split

Alcaraz and Ferrero split as a player-coach partnership in December, with the latter stating that disagreement over a new contract between his team and Alcaraz’s team had led to the decision. (AP Photo)

Former World No.1 and 2000 Olympics gold medallist Yevgeny Kafelnikov has hinted that Juan Carlos Ferrero’s attempt to separate six-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz from fame, and that “girls” could have played a part in them splitting as a player-coach partnership. The 51-year-old felt that it was ‘understandable’ to see Alcaraz get a lot of fame and recognition at his age, adding that one could not resist the urge at 22.

“Knowing that Juan Carlos is very professional – he was as a player as well – I am sure that he wants absolute commitment from his players and that his demands in terms of professionalism are very high. Probably, given that Carlos is Spanish, very young, and attracted to all external temptations… he has been difficult to work with lately.”

“It’s understandable – he’s 22 years old, all the girls are after him, there’s fame and everything that goes with it. No one could resist at such a young age. Juan Carlos probably saw that and was trying to separate training and tennis from all the noise. This, from my perspective, is probably where the conflict occurred,” Kafelnikov told Sport Club in an interview.

The Russian hinted that Alcaraz’s father may have had a role in the player splitting with the coach, a few weeks before the start of the new season.

“Honestly, I have no idea how he will react. But why would you end such a successful collaboration anyway? At least they seemed to be happy… There was never any sign that they were going to break up – they were winning slams, they were number one in the world… I’m sure Carlos’ father has a lot to do with this split, not Carlos himself. We’ll see what happens now,” he said.

Alcaraz won the French Open and US Open in 2025, splitting the slams with Jannik Sinner, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He has the chance to complete the career slam by winning the 2026 Australian Open, which starts on January 18.