5 most revealing things Carlos Alcaraz's ex-coach Juan Carlos Ferrero said in first interview since break-up

Juan Carlos Ferrero has broken the silence days after his infamous split with Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish coach shared his side of the story to reveal the things that led to the breakup of one of the most successful coach-player partnerships in tennis' history.

While announcing the split on December 17, Alcaraz and Carlos Ferrero did not provide a specific reason for their separation in their lengthy posts on social media. This led fans and former players to speculate several theories, including a pay dispute, about the breakup.

However, a week after the split, Juan Carlos Ferrero revealed more details about his split and also talked about his future roles in an exclusive interview with Marca at his academy in Villena, Spain.

Here are five revealing things Carlos Alcaraz's former coach said:

"I'm hurting" - Juan Carlos Ferrero says he needs time to recover from split

It's been over a week, but Juan Carlos Ferrero is still in a period of grieving. He spent eight successful years on court with Carlos Alcaraz, but the relationship, which the World No. 1 once described as a father-son bond, ended on a sour note. In his first interview since the breakup, the former World No. 1 confirmed disagreements over the new contract.

"Carlos's camp thinks about what's best for him, and mine thinks about what's best for me," Juan Carlos Ferrero said. "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."

Despite the disagreements over the contract and the painful end to the partnership, the 45-year-old said that he would feel "hurt" seeing Carlos Alcaraz play in tournaments and needed time to recover.

"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. And there has to be a grieving period. And, above all, I suppose it will also hurt when I see him play in tournaments. A lot of shared experiences come into play there. I think it's going to take some time."

The upcoming 2026 Australian Open will be Carlos Alcaraz's first event after his split from Carlos Ferrero. The six-time Grand Slam winner has played two exhibition events in the USA after ending the season as the Year-End No. 1 in men's singles.

"I'd have to think about" - Juan Carlos Ferrero on coaching Jannik Sinner in future

Samuel Lopez, who joined the Juan Carlos Ferrero-led team in December 2024, will step in as a head coach for Carlos Alcaraz going into the next season. However, fans are also keen to learn about Carlos Ferrero's future ahead of the 2026 season.

The 2003 French Open winner revealed that he has received several offers, but said it's not the right time. When asked about whether he accepts an offer from the current World No. 2 and Alcaraz's fiercest rival, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Ferrero said:

"It's something I'd have to think about. They're extraordinary players, but as I said before, it's 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."

"Preseason was already planned" - Juan Carlos Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero said that the split "turned everything upside down," as he had a preseason planned with Carlos Alcaraz and Samuel Lopez. After enjoying the best season on the tour with eight singles titles, Alcaraz's camp had organized a plan for the 2026 season.

Carlos Ferrero revealed that Lopez was aware of everything that was happening.

"We organized the preseason with Samuel, and I've handed it over to him. Samu was aware of everything, and they didn't have to change anything because it was all organized."

The only Grand Slam missing from Carlos Alcaraz's cabinet is the Australian Open. It will be interesting to see how the World No. 1 will perform in Melbourne, in the first event since his breakup with Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The former World No. 1 revealed that he had planned to travel to the Australian Open with Carlos Alcaraz, and now the split will be "a radical change" for both parties.

"It's clear that it's been a radical change for everyone," he added. "Adapting isn't easy. For me, obviously, it's not a pleasant time at all. 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."

For the unversed, Samuel Lopez took the reins when Juan Carlos Ferrero missed the 2024 Australian Open due to an arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

"I'm not closing the door" - Juan Carlos Ferrero on reconciliation with Carlos Alcaraz in future

Juan Carlos Ferrero, meanwhile, did not rule out the chance to reconnect with Carlos Alcaraz in the future. The Spanish coach said that he has maintained a "very good relationship" with the player despite disagreements on certain points.

"Of course, I'm not closing the door," he said. "With the relationship we've had, closing the door definitively wouldn't be logical, neither for him nor for the team. I want to end things well with them. Disagreeing on certain points doesn't mean we're not still friends or that we don't maintain a very good relationship."

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in his farewell social media post, had written that he hopes to cross paths with Carlos Alcaraz in the future.

"Carlos Alcaraz was aware of contract disagreements" - Juan Carlos Ferrero

Juan Carlos Ferrero also confirmed that the disagreement over the contract renewal led to his breakup with Carlos Alcaraz. Post-breakup reports suggested that Alcaraz's camp offered a significant pay cut and gave the coach very little time to consider. However, Carlos Ferrero didn't go into depth but revealed that Carlos Alcaraz was aware of "everything" related to contract renewal.

"I spoke with him beforehand to ask if he was aware of everything, and he said yes," Carlos Ferrero added. "From then on, I spoke with the people I needed to speak with. I left him out of it because I understood he was aware of everything. If we couldn't reach an agreement, well, his people would look out for him, and I'd look out for mine. It's normal that he's on his side, of course."

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Ferrero dismissed financial issues as one of the reasons behind the breakup, saying he was never in the project for the money.

"There's been talk that I asked for more, and it's true that they've always been very generous with a very high percentage for those early years when I was so involved with it. And I appreciate that. In the end, I've tried to make it clear that the financial issue wasn't one of the problems, nor was it the reason I was in this project," he added.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz will be in the hot seat when he returns to pre-tournament activities in Melbourne next month. The Spaniard is likely to be asked to elaborate on his decision to part ways with Juan Carlos Ferrero just weeks before the Grand Slam event.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam