Carlos Alcaraz: Could Juan Carlos Ferrero return to world No 1’s team?
Could Juan Carlos Ferrero make a return to Carlos Alcaraz’s coaching team in future? The Spaniard’s current coach Samuel Lopez has shared his views on the topic.
After seven successful years that resulted in Alcaraz winning six Grand Slams and becoming the youngest world No 1 in ATP Rankings history, the ATP star and Ferrero went their separate ways after the 2025 season.
Alcaraz won two French Open titles, two Wimbledon trophies and two US Open crowns with the former world No 1 as his head coach, but they split last December after they could not reach an agreement on a new contract.
Lopez, who joined the team in late 2024, was promoted to head coach and his partnership with the 22-year-old got off to a brilliant start as Alcaraz won the 2026 Australian Open to become the youngest player to complete the Career Grand Slam and he followed it up with the Qatar Open.
But the Alcaraz-Ferrero split did leave the latter heartbroken as he unfollowed his former protege on Instagram after his Melbourne Park title run, saying “I don’t follow him because I need a little time, to separate myself from him”.
In an interview with COPE, he said: “My heart broke when it happened, but I’m recovering little by little. My heart is hurting, and I like to think that his is too. He is younger and recovers faster, but what he needs to do is move forward.
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But Ferrero has also admitted “I couldn’t say no” if Alcaraz asked him to return as coach and now Lopez has also revealed that the door is definitely not shut on a potential return for the former mentor.
“Our relationship [with Ferrero] is good. I don’t know what might happen in the future, but a return isn’t out of the question,” he told Eurosport Spain.
“It’s something that, perhaps, with time, could happen. Why not? It’s not a far-fetched idea. After spending seven or eight years with Carlos, there’s an affection and a bond that will always be there. So it could happen.”
But while Ferrero and Lopez are open to a potential reunion, the man himself, Alcaraz, has remained tight-lipped about his former coach returning to his team as he rarely mentions the former French Open champion during interviews.