Elena Rybakina and other players have high hopes for the new season, but makeovers don’t come easily in tennis

“I think Samuel, for me, is one of the best coaches that we have on tour,” Alcaraz said ahead of a scheduled exhibition match against Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden.

ByAssociated Press

Published Dec 05, 2024

Advertising

NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz will have an additional coach with him when the 2025 season begins.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has hired Samuel Lopez to work alongside Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has coached the Spaniard since he was 15 years old.

Lopez has coached Ferrero, among other players. Alcaraz, 21, believes the pairing can help push him back to the top of the rankings.

“I think Samuel, for me, is one of the best coaches that we have on tour,” Alcaraz said Tuesday, the day before a scheduled exhibition match against Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden.

“They trust each other 100 percent and being able to travel with both, for me, it’s going to be great. I think I’m going to grow as a player thanks to them. I think we are going to work pretty hard and pretty good for the next season and the next years. Hopefully we are going to make good results together.”

Lopez was a member of Spain’s Olympic team in 2000 and 2012. He had been working with Pablo Carreño Busta, who thanked his coach for nine seasons together in an Instagram post this weekend.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (@carlitosalcarazz)

Advertising

Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach No. 1 in the ATP rankings after winning the US Open in 2022 at 19. He went on to win two Wimbledon titles and one at the French Open, where Ferrero won the title in 2003.

Alcaraz finished this year at No. 3. He said his relationship with Ferrero remains strong, crediting the coach for turning him into the player and person he is now, and allowing him to gain more of a voice at their academy.

“They’re listening to me much more than before,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously when I was 16 years old I had nothing to say. I was just mouth closed and ears open and did whatever he said. Right now I’m doing more things for myself, let’s say I’m taking more decisions, serious decisions.

“So I think (we) both are doing great work together as a person as well just to make sure this relationship is still pretty good and the love that we have for each other is huge. So I admire him as a professional but as a person as well.”

US Open women’s runner-up Jessica Pegula and semifinalist Emma Navarro will also play in the Garden Cup.

By BRIAN MAHONEY