Carlos Alcaraz moved up with Juan Carlos Ferrero—now, he moves on without him

Very few great players have followed that ancient piece of advice to, “Quit while you’re on top.” But they appear to be all-in on a counter-intuitive adage: “Fire your coach while you’re on top.”

The latest pro to embrace the new dictum is Carlos Alcaraz, who announced on social media on Wednesday that he has split with his coach of seven years, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Alcaraz, or whomever is crafting his social media, wrote: “We have reached the top, and I think that if our sporting paths have to separate it should be from there, from the place we always worked for and aspired to reach.”

Read more: Carlos Alcaraz announces shock split from longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

That was a dignified way to put it, but it still left pundits shocked and fans weeping and gnashing their teeth. Among other things, Ferrero had just days earlier been named the ATP’s 2025 Coach of the Year. There is something weird about this development. It’s like a race-car driver firing his crew chief after winning the biggest race of the year, or a person dumping a spouse upon returning from an idyllic vacation mostly spent laying around mooning over each other.

In a social media post of his own, the jilted coach wrote, “[This day is] one of those when it’s hard to find the right words. Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when there are so many shared experiences behind it. We have worked hard, grown together, and shared unforgettable moments.”

That also was a dignified way to put things but there were different feelings simmering beneath Ferrero’s flowery words. After making the obligatory prediction of further success for Alcaraz, Ferrero couldn't help but add, “I wish I could have continued.”

Ouch.

Great tennis players are celebrities now. Their kind does mystifying things, speaks in a kind of code invented by a Praetorian Guard of managers, publicists and spin doctors. Social media has put the players and their associates in control of their own narratives. Luckily for us, those are usually transparent. Has any coaching relationship ever ended like a bad romance, without lavish expressions of mutual admiration and fawning gratitude? Doesn’t a coach ever get fired for asking for a big raise, failing to hit goals, philosophical differences, chronic halitosis, or ignoring boundaries.

🖥️📲 Stream Alcaraz's best matches of 2025 on the Tennis Channel App!

Perhaps these love-fests are not the worst thing. If it weren’t for all the gooey testimonials the sporting world might lose a little of the magic sports fans crave, thereby becoming more like real life. Fans would learn that no matter how well coach/protege relationships turn out—and some turn out wonderfully for all concerned—they are deeply transactional.

A former Grand Slam singles champion turned tennis camp operator, Ferrero guided “Carlito’s” career for the past seven years. The relationship was brokered by Albert Molina, an IMG agent who stumbled upon Alcaraz when he was an 11-year old prodigy and signed him for the sports agency. It just so happened that Ferrero was also an IMG client. Nice fit.

There are exceptions to the transactional dynamic. Rafael Nadal is the most highly decorated champion who was coached through the critical early years of his career by a family member (his uncle Toni Nadal), but there are—and have been—many others. Those family-based relationships are often more long-lived, less stage-managed. Who can forget Marion Bartoli, or Stefanos Tsitsipas ordering their parent-coaches to leave a stadium—something you are unlikely to see in more “professional” relationships.

Over the years, Ferrero grew into a bit of a father figure, his authority legitimized by Alcaraz’s results, his presence necessary lest Alcaraz lose his desire to train or—heaven forbid!—forget how to win. Alcaraz has proven a highly motivated cracker-jack learner. He may no longer need Ferrero whispering in his ear, or checking if he’s asleep at 10. Alcaraz has matured to the point where he wants to sit in the driver’s seat. It would be awkward for Ferrero to move over to the passenger side, or even the back seat.

Beyond that, firing coaches when giving them huge bonuses might seem more appropriate has become common. Novak Djokovic split with Goran Ivanisevic in early 2024, after a six-year partnership that yielded 12 major titles.

The trend is especially pronounced in the WTA. Just two weeks after Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open in 2019, she abruptly sacked Sascha Bajin. Just weeks earlier, Bajin had been named the WTA’s 2018 Coach of the Year.

David Witt professed “total surprise” when, after five years during which his protege Jessica Pegula rose to No. 3 in the world, she turned him out in February of 2024. Just days before the US Open of 2025, Coco Gauff booted Matt Daly, under whose guidance she had won the 2024 French Open. Taylor Townsend terminated her partnership with John Williams this month, in a year when she won a Grand Slam doubles title and earned the top doubles ranking.

In his announcement, Alcaraz wrote, “We started this journey when I was just a kid, and throughout this time you have accompanied me on an incredible journey, both on and off the court. And I have thoroughly enjoyed every step of the way with you.”

Over time, Alcaraz’s baby steps developed into the strides of a sporting giant, outpacing Ferrero who now confronts an easily forgotten reality: Coaches are hired to be fired.