McEnroe, who has repeatedly stated that Alcaraz is his favourite player, was quizzed on the possibility of replacing Ferrero during an interview with El Pais and suggested that he’d be interested in joining the Spaniard’s team.
He said: “Those who have heard me comment on the games know that Alcaraz is probably my favourite player. It’s crazy what he is capable of doing on a tennis court and he’s not even a particularly tall player, maybe he’s half a centimetre taller than me.
“Honestly, I would enjoy [working] with either of them. All I would do would be to pat them on the back and wish them luck before they jumped on the [court]. I don’t know how far I would really have anything to tell them.”
It remains to be seen if Alcaraz will make any more appointments to his coaching team in the wake of Ferrero’s surprise exit. For now, he seems to be getting on just fine, having made history at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old is still basking in the glory of his triumph in Melbourne and showed off his trophy in the city on Monday morning.
Speaking afterwards, he said: “It’s a dream come true, to be honest. It was something I was working really hard for, to get this trophy and the career Grand Slam.
“Before the last point a lot of things came into my mind. I was really nervous and I was shaking, almost. I saw the ball going out and it was like: ‘Alright, I guess I made it’. It was a great feeling.”
The newly-crowned champion will now make his return to action at the Qatar Open in mid-February. He reached the quarter-finals in 2025, where he was beaten by Jiri Lehecka.