\u201cIn any negotiation, one side pulls one way and the other the opposite,\u201d Ferrero told Marca. \u201cCarlos\u2019s camp looks out for what is best for him, and I look out for what is best for me. Perhaps it could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but we didn\u2019t, and we decided not to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrero : \u201cmoney has never been the most important thing\u201d<\/p>\n
While reports from Marca and Mundo Deportivo noted the contract included a significant salary reduction, Ferrero clarified that the financial terms were not the primary hurdle. \u201cI\u2019ve shown since I was very young that money has never been the most important thing for me,\u201d Ferrero said.<\/p>\n
Instead, the friction centered on \u201cnon-sporting clauses\u201d and the professional direction of Alcaraz\u2019s career. Ferrero noted he had already planned the entire 2026 preseason and Australian Open schedule before the split. \u201cEverything seemed to be going well. When Carlos played the final in Turin [in November], it seemed certain we would continue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Carlos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Carlos_Alcaraz_Ferrero.jpg\")
Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2025 | \u00a9 Federico Pestellini \/ PSNewz<\/p>\n
Academy and Personal Interests<\/p>\n
The split follows long-standing reports about tension regarding Alcaraz\u2019s training base. The player\u2019s father, Carlos Alcaraz Sr., has been promoting the \u201cCarlos Alcaraz Tennis Academy\u201d in El Palmar, Murcia, roughly 60 miles from Ferrero\u2019s Equelite Academy in Villena.<\/p>\n
Ferrero denied issuing an ultimatum regarding the location. \u201cIt\u2019s logical that he wants to have his own academy and be at home more,\u201d Ferrero said. \u201cI never saw this as a rivalry.\u201d However, CLAY reported a \u201cheated argument\u201d between Ferrero and Alcaraz\u2019s father as early as February 2023, regarding Ferrero\u2019s decision to skip certain tour dates.<\/p>\n
The \u201cSinner\u201d Question and the Open Door<\/p>\n
Despite receiving immediate proposals to return to the ATP Tour within a week of the split, Ferrero stated he is not emotionally ready to coach another player. Addressing the persistent rumors linking him to Alcaraz\u2019s chief rival, Jannik Sinner, Ferrero was non-committal but admitted to a lingering emotional attachment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not the time to think about [Sinner] and say yes or no,\u201d Ferrero said. \u201cI need two or three months of peace because every day I still think about Carlos. It would be impossible for me to take someone else right now because my heart is still over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I spoke with [Carlos] before to ask if he was aware of everything and he said yes<\/p>\n
However, Ferrero pointedly refused to bridge the gap permanently. \u201cI don\u2019t close the door on working with Carlos again. Definitively shutting that door wouldn\u2019t be logical.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrero admitted he did not speak to Alcaraz to inform him he was officially resigning or to overcome the final hurdle. \u201cI spoke with [Carlos] before to ask if he was aware of everything and he said yes. From there, I spoke with the people I had to speak with. I left him aside because I understood he was informed.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Juan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Carlos_Alcaraz_Miami_2023_semi.jpg\")
Juan Carlos Ferrero, Miami 2023 | \u00a9 Mike Frey for Tennis Majors<\/p>\n
Communication and the Transition to Samuel L\u00f3pez<\/p>\n
Carlos Alcaraz appeared to confirm the team\u2019s new hierarchy on Tuesday, Dec. 23. The 22-year-old released a social media carousel showing him smiling during a training session with Samuel L\u00f3pez, who has been confirmed as his head coach for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez, 55, co-founded the Equelite Academy and has worked with Alcaraz since December 2024. He and Ferrero were jointly named 2025 ATP Coaches of the Year on Dec. 11, just six days before the split was announced.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to train with enthusiasm, ambition, and unity,\u201d L\u00f3pez wrote in a statement on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Ferrero, who led Alcaraz to six Grand Slam titles and 24 tour-level trophies, described the split as a \u201cdeep wound\u201d but insisted the personal bond remains. \u201cNot agreeing on certain points does not mean we aren\u2019t friends. I wish him the best; he has the potential to be the best in history.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Juan Carlos Ferrero confirmed Wednesday that a breakdown in contract negotiations, characterized by a \u201c48-hour ultimatum,\u201d ended his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-368904","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}