Carlos Alcaraz set the tennis world alight when he announced his shock split with Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday. Ferrero joined Alcaraz’s team when the Spanish star was just 15 years old. In their seven years together, Alcaraz won 23 titles, including six Grand Slams, and became the youngest world No. 1 in ATP history. But their successful partnership has now come to an end.

Last year, Samuel Lopez, who works at Ferrero’s academy in Spain, also joined Alcaraz’s team. Lopez had previously coached Ferrero during his playing days, and worked with Pablo Carreno Busta until last year.

While Ferrero is no longer a part of Alcaraz’s coaching team, Lopez will remain in the camp and travel to Australia with the world No. 1, according to Marca.

Ferrero and Lopez both won the ATP Coach of the Year award this year after an incredible season which saw Alcaraz lift eight titles, two of them coming at the Majors. Alcaraz also sealed his second career year-end No. 1 finish and went 71-9 in matches. Ferrero also won the award in 2022 and became the first coach to win it twice.

After receiving the award, Lopez told the ATP: “I’ve known Juan Carlos since he was ten years old and Carlos since he took his first steps at the [Ferrero Tennis] Academy. I was with Pablo during that period, but we’d shared a lot of moments together. The working atmosphere is very relaxed because we’ve always known each other and we understood what Carlos needed.

“Maybe I freshened things up, because Juan Carlos has been with him for seven years and I’m new. I know the team and we’ve all contributed equally, but in different ways. Above all, we’ve really insisted that the work has to be fun.”

Announcing news of his split from Ferrero on Wednesday, Alcaraz said it was “very difficult” to write the post. “We have managed to reach the top, and I feel that, if our sports paths had to separate, it had to be from up there. From the place where we always work and where we always aspire to reach,” the six-time Major winner said.

Ferrero released his own statement, hinting that he didn’t want to leave the team. “I wish I could have continued. I am convinced that good memories and good people always find a way to cross paths again,” he penned.

Alcaraz has already started his pre-season training in Spain. The 22-year-old played two exhibition matches earlier this month in New Jersey and Miami before heading home for a training block. Alcaraz will start his 2026 season at the Australian Open, where he bids to complete the career Grand Slam.