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Former world number one Ferrero guided fellow Spaniard Alcaraz to all six major wins and once described him as his “fourth child”. <\/p>\n
“The whole situation is a bit of a strange one – I did not see it coming at all,” British player Jodie Burrage told BBC Radio 5 Live.<\/a><\/p>\n “We can all speculate and guess but speaking from experience of stopping with coaches, sometimes it is innocent and there’s not too much in it, it just doesn’t work.<\/p>\n “But that coaching relationship was working – with what he achieved, how could it not be? It’s mind-blowing, really.”<\/p>\n Following the split, Ferrero told Spanish sport newspaper Marca, external<\/span><\/a> he had believed things would continue as they were and that he would head to the Australian Open as Alcaraz’s coach.<\/p>\n However, the 2003 French Open winner said there were “certain issues” when it came to resolving contracts.<\/p>\n “Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end, we didn’t, and we decided not to continue,” Ferrero said<\/p>\n “It’s clear that it’s been a radical change for everyone. Adapting isn’t easy. For me, obviously, it’s not a pleasant time at all.”<\/p>\n Former British player Naomi Broady said she could see “cracks” in the pair’s relationship when she commentated on Alcaraz’s defeat by Cameron Norrie<\/a> at October’s Paris Masters.<\/p>\n “Alcaraz played pretty terribly. There was a lot of tension,” Broady said. <\/p>\n “You don’t really see it from him on the court but he was really shouting at his box and he was getting a bit back, so there were definitely cracks.”<\/p>\n Samuel Lopez – who joined Alcaraz in 2024 and has coached him when Ferrero missed tournaments for personal reasons – has remained in his team.<\/p>\n “I have the same team that I had last year. Just one member missing. But the rest of the team, everyone are the same,” Alcaraz added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n