By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz shares the evolution of his partnership with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and what he hopes new coach Samuel Lopez brings to his team.
Photo credit: Matt McNulty/Getty for ITF
Training for the 2025 Australian Open will see Carlos Alcaraz target two areas.
The third-ranked Spaniard aims to sharpen his serve—and amplify his voice.
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Alcaraz has added a familiar face—Samuel Lopez—to his coaching team led by former world No. 1 and long-time head coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. Lopez, who has worked with Alcaraz at select tournaments in the past, previously coached Pablo Carreno Busta for about nine years.
In a round-table Q&A with the media at the Essex House on Central Park South in New York City earlier this month, Alcaraz addressed the addition of Lopez to his team—and the evolution of his relationship with the man he calls “a second father” Ferrero.
These days, Alcaraz said the biggest change in his coaching process is there is more dialogue.
“They are listening to me much more than before,” Alcaraz told the media. “Obviously, when I was 16 years old I had nothing to say.
“I just had my mouth closed and ears open and did whatever [Ferrero] says.”
The 21-year-old Alcaraz, who began working with Ferrero at about the age of 15, said mutual love and respect are the root reasons for the longevity of their productive partnership.
“Right now, I am doing more things myself. I am let’s say taking more decisions, serious decisions, as well,” Alcaraz said. “So I think we are both doing great work together to make this relationship still pretty good.
“Yeah, the love that we have for each other is huge. So I admire Juan Carlos as a professional but as a person as well and I look up to him as well. So that’s why our relationship is still pretty good.”
The 2003 Roland Garros champion Ferrero said he sees a more mature Alcaraz both on and off court.
"As a person, I would say he's more mature," Ferrero said in a Mutua Madrid Open interview earlier this season. "As a player, I think he grows up like super fast on the court.
"He can, let's say, read the matches a little bit better. Even before the match, like talking about the match, you can see that he's more mature on all kind of areas on the court.
"I would say he's better than last year. I think he has more experience.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion said he hopes to tap into the extensive knowledge of both coaches.
Samuel Lopez has already worked with Alcaraz in the past. Lopez was Alcaraz’s lead coach at the 2024 Australian Open as Ferrero was unable to attend while recovering from knee surgery.
A key aim for the Alcaraz coaching team: Create easier service holds in 2025.
Though Alcaraz can blast 130 mph-plus first-serves, can serve with hellacious spin and dots all areas of the box, he clocked in at only No. 30 on the ATP Tour in first-serve points won in 2024 (73 percent) and was No. 12 in the vital service games won category (85.4 percent).
In contrast, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner was No. 1 in service games won (91.4 percent) and was second in first-serve points won (79.3 percent).
On the flip side, Alcaraz was second on the ATP Tour to Alex de Minaur in return games won (30.79 percent).
So if the Spaniard can strengthen his service hold game so he holds more efficiently, you have to think Alcaraz, breaking 30 percent of the time, will make his life a lot easier and prevent added wear and tear on his body.
Several stars work with multiple coaches, including world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, coached by Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi.
Alexander Zverev is coached by his father, Alexander, Sr., and his brother, Mischa. Daniil Medvedev has Team Gilles with coaches Gilles Cervara and Gilles Simon. Hubert Hurkacz announced he’s working with Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl and two-time Olympic gold-medal champion Nicolas Massu and US Open finalist Taylor Fritz works with ATP Coach of the Year Michael Russell and Tennis Channel analyst and former Sampras-Henman-Federer coach Paul Annacone.
Coaching synergy is a key to any coaching team and Alcaraz believes he has that.
“I think Samuel is for me one of the best coaches that we have on Tour,” Alcaraz said. “Having the chance to work with Juan Carlos and Samuel I think between them have a really good relationship.
“They trust each other 100 percent. Being able to travel with both for me it’s gonna be great. I think I’m gonna grow as a player working with them. I think we are going to work pretty hard, pretty good, for the rest of the [year], for next season, for the next years. Hopefully, we will make good results together. I think with Juan Carlos and Samuel on my team, we are gonna make a really good team.”
In a past interview with Tennis Now, Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and original coach, cited “trust” and “truth” as two reasons why his partnership with his nephew was so successful.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Alcaraz is a champion for all surfaces making history at Roland Garros in June as the youngest man to capture Grand Slam championships on the three major surfaces: hard court (2022 US Open), grass (2023-2024 Wimbledon) and his native surface red clay in Paris.
Alcaraz said maintaining a productive partnership requires work from both sides—and credits Ferrero’s life coaching with helping him develop into the major champion he’s become.
“I started with him when I was only 15 years old. So the person and the player that I am right now is thanks to him,” Alcaraz said of Ferrero. “So I’m growing up as a person and as a player. I know in myself what I need.
"I know what I have to do on and off the court as well. So it’s work that we both are doing.”