THE "NETFLIX" WARNING: DID CARLOS ALCARAZ’S DOCUMENTARY PREDICT THE SPLIT WITH FERRERO MONTHS AGO
No more "Juanki." Carlos Alcaraz splits with long-time mentor Ferrero. Discover the reasons behind the biggest tennis story of 2025.
Okay, here's a rewritten version of the text, trying to make it sound more like a human wrote it:
The tennis world's buzzing about it: Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero are splitting up. A lot of people didn't see that coming.
The reaction to the world No. 1's announcement that he and Ferrero, his coach for seven years, were parting ways has been huge, making this one of the biggest tennis stories of the year.
Since Wednesday's announcement, everyone's been wondering what caused the split. The rumours are flying, and they probably won't stop anytime soon, since neither Alcaraz nor Ferrero has said anything beyond their initial statements.
But now, some people are looking back at Alcaraz's Netflix documentary, Carlos Alcaraz: My Way, saying it showed early signs of tension between the two.
So, let's look at what the documentary showed and how Alcaraz and Ferrero reacted back then.
What was in the documentary?
Carlos Alcaraz: My Way was basically a standard look at Alcaraz's life, from tennis whiz kid to one of the best players around.
Not much new stuff came out. Everyone already knew how close Alcaraz is to his family and how badly he wants to be one of the all-time greats—those were big themes in the documentary.
But one thing that did pop up, and surprised some people, was a conversation between Alcaraz and Ferrero about how much time Alcaraz spends away from the court.
The 22-year-old's vacations and trips to Ibiza have gotten a lot of attention. In the documentary, Ferrero and Alcaraz's agent, Albert Molina, seemed worried that too much time off could be a distraction.
There was also a direct conversation between Alcaraz and Ferrero, who used to be world No. 1 himself, about where Alcaraz’s career was going. It showed how hard it is for Alcaraz to balance the demands of being a top athlete with wanting to enjoy life as a young guy.
How did Alcaraz react?
The documentary got people talking mostly about Alcaraz's work-life balance, that conversation with Ferrero, and how much time players should take off to rest.
Alcaraz didn't say anything publicly about the reaction to the conversation between him and Ferrero for a few weeks. He had to pull out of the Madrid Open because of an injury.
But when he came back at the Italian Open two weeks later, he was quick to shut down any talk of tension between him and Ferrero.
I'm not going to say 'a fight,' but the conversation we have, coach and player, we all have, Alcaraz said, according to sources.
We all have those conversations about everything: the tournaments, the practices, and the things I want to do that maybe I shouldn't.
Anyone who says they don't have those conversations is lying. That's the good thing, having different feelings and different points of view. In the end, we're all on the same path. We're all together.
That's great too. That's what I saw in the documentary.
How did Ferrero react?
Ferrero did a lot of interviews while he was Alcaraz's coach, and he also talked about the documentary.
El Larguero asked the former French Open champ about the reaction to the documentary and how people felt about the discussions about Alcaraz's training.
According to Punto de Break, Ferrero was quick to defend Alcaraz, making it clear that he didn't have big problems with Alcaraz's commitment.
He said, Now everyone's talking about it. Once the documentary came out, we knew there would be negative comments, especially if he lost. If he had lost in Paris, people would have said he should have gone to Ibiza.
Even though the documentary talks about his way, Carlos' way is really about training. We don't train a ton. I'd rather have two hours of really good practice than four hours with a bad attitude.
I used to train a lot more, but the demands of the tour mean we have to focus on quality and making training count. Whenever we've asked Carlos to work, he's done it.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
