CARLOS ALCARAZ AND JUAN CARLOS FERRERO SPLIT: RUSEDSKI REVEALS POTENTIAL REASONS FOR SHOCK BREAKUP
Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero part ways after seven years. Greg Rusedski weighs in on the scheduling rows behind the split.
The tennis world is buzzing because Carlos Alcaraz and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, are parting ways. Greg Rusedski, a former British No. 1, is sharing his thoughts on why this successful partnership ended.
Alcaraz himself confirmed the split, which ends a long run that saw him become the world's top player and win six Grand Slam titles.
"This is tough to write," Alcaraz said. After over seven years, Juanki and I have decided to stop working together. Thanks for making my childhood dreams real. We started when I was just a kid, and you were with me on an amazing journey that was incredible, both on and off the court. I loved every minute.
We hit the top, and if we had to split, I'm glad it was from up there—where we always wanted to be. Now, we're both changing things up with new projects. I know we'll handle it well and give it our all, like always. I wish you the best. I'm glad we gave it everything. Thanks for everything, Juanki!
Rusedski told Tennis365 that disagreements over scheduling might be the reason for the change.
"I'm not shocked," Rusedski said before the release of his new podcast, Off Court with Greg. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some arguments about scheduling. Carlos got hurt at the Tokyo event and then again at the ATP Finals, but he's still playing exhibition matches.
If you watch the Netflix documentary, you see Carlos’s team wants him to be super serious to reach the level of greats like Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Look at Jannik Sinner. He skipped the Davis Cup Finals and isn't playing any exhibitions to get ready for the new season. When Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic were on top, they didn't play many exhibitions. The off-season is key for preparing, but Carlos might think he can keep going without problems. That might not be true.
Rusedski thinks it will be hard for Alcaraz to find a replacement for Ferrero. How do you replace Ferrero? Who can do that? It's not easy. He's been with Carlos from the beginning, and it will be tough to find someone who can give him what Juan Carlos has.
WHY COCO GAUFF STILL BATTLES "IMPOSTOR SYNDROME" DESPITE ELEVEN WTA CAREER TITLES
Coco Gauff opens up about her serve struggles and mental hurdles after a gritty quarter-final win over Bencic.
Coco Gauff opened up about feeling “impostor syndrome” and wondering if she really deserves her spot among the best on the WTA Tour.
After beating Belinda Bencic (ranked 12th) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the Miami Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, she talked honestly about those doubts. Gauff has fought through each Miami match in three sets, taking down Sorana Cirstea, Alycia Parks, and Elisabetta Cocciaretto before facing Bencic.
Her team actually didn’t want her to play the tournament in Florida since a “nerve-related” arm injury cut her run short at Indian Wells, but she pushed forward anyway. She’s still working through issues with her serve and sometimes her forehand, and since August, she’s been teaming up with biomechanics expert Gavin MacMillan.
Even with these technical struggles, Gauff – who just turned 22 this month – already has an impressive resume. She’s snagged 11 singles titles on the WTA Tour, including two Grand Slams, the WTA Finals, and three WTA 1000 trophies. She’s also climbed as high as No. 2 in the world rankings.
After her win against Bencic, reporters asked what it meant for her to get through four tough matches, especially after coming back from injury. Gauff said, “Honestly, it just shows my mentality. It all comes down to what’s in your head, really.”
She added, “Sometimes I have to remind myself that I belong here. I get impostor syndrome, and when they announce my achievements during warm-up, I almost feel detached, like, ‘Wait, I actually have a good career.’ But in the moment, you’re so focused on working stuff out, especially my serve, that it just feels... I don’t know, like maybe I shouldn’t be here. But tennis doesn’t lie; the ball doesn’t lie. I just have to trust myself, and my coach keeps telling me, ‘Remember who you are; you’re a good player.’ They’ve drilled that in. Sometimes I believe it, sometimes I don’t. So I’m just trying to believe it more.”
Gauff is chasing her first Miami Open title, and next up is world No. 14 Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals.
THE NADAL SHIELD: RAFA’S BLUNT MESSAGE TO FANS: "STOP EXPECTING CARLOS ALCARAZ TO WIN EVERY MATCH"
Carlos Alcaraz faces criticism after a Miami Open exit, but Rafael Nadal defends the World No. 1 and his 7 Slams.
Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his 2026 season in style. He finally completed the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, then rolled through Doha to pick up another trophy. No one could touch him for his first 16 matches of the year. That streak finally snapped in the Indian Wells semi-finals when Daniil Medvedev took him down.
After that, things got a little rocky. Alcaraz, still holding onto the world No. 1 ranking, got knocked out early in Miami. He won just one match there before Sebastian Korda sent him packing. It was déjà vu; last year, he lost his very first match at the Hard Rock Stadium to David Goffin.
So after that hot streak, Alcaraz has dropped two of his last three matches. The Miami loss to Korda stung, especially after Alcaraz clawed back in the second set to force a decider. But Korda, ranked 36th in the world, kept his cool and closed it out in three sets: 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Alcaraz never really looked settled and kept chatting nervously with his team the whole time.
Still, don’t expect Rafael Nadal to hit the panic button. The Spanish legend, 22-time Grand Slam champ, now retired, shrugged off concerns about Alcaraz’s Miami slip-up. Asked point-blank about the third-round exit, Nadal didn’t mince words.
“He just won the Australian Open, has seven Slams, is No. 1 in the world... So what? Do we expect him to win every single match all year? That’s not how it works. There’s your answer,” Nadal told reporters after picking up an honorary doctorate in Madrid.
Nadal knows that world No. 1 pressure better than anyone. And at 39, he’s urging everyone to ease up.
“Are we really bothered by two losses? That makes no sense. We can’t keep asking more and more from him,” Nadal said. “We should just congratulate Carlos and thank him for what he’s doing.”
He went on: “He’s pulling off things for Spanish sport that, 25 or 30 years back, none of us could have dreamed of. Maybe we’re getting spoiled, but I’ve never lost sight of how hard what Carlos and any top athlete do really is.”
Alcaraz’s early exit did open the door for another Spanish story in Miami. Martin Landaluce, ranked 151 and a Rafa Nadal Academy graduate, qualified for his first ATP quarter-final. He upset two top-20 seeds, Luciano Darderi and Karen Khachanov, then took out Korda, the same guy who’d toppled Alcaraz.
Landaluce credits Nadal and the academy for his breakthrough. “I’ve been training at Rafa’s place since I was 14. I definitely picked up some of his mentality, that Spanish fighting spirit, most of all. Watching him, hitting with him, getting advice, and just seeing how hard he trains day after day has really left a mark on me,” he said.
