More details emerge about Carlos Alcaraz's and Juan Carlos Ferrero's shock split

The tennis world was taken aback this week when Alcaraz issued a shock statement as he revealed that "after more than seven years together, Juanki and I have decided to end our time together as coach and player".

It was one of the most successful partnerships in recent history as 2003 French Open champion Ferrero led the youngster to 24 singles titles - including six Grand Slams and nine ATP Masters 1000 trophies - and to the top of the ATP Rankings.

And it's not like Alcaraz suffered a loss of form in 2025 as he won the French Open US Open and six other tournaments this campaign, while he finished as the year-end No. 1 for the second time in his career.

In his statement, the 22-year-old thanked Ferrero and added "Now, a time of change is upon us both, new adventures and new projects. But I'm certain that we'll face them in the right way, giving our best, as we always have. Always adding value."

Ferrero, meanwhile, paid tribute to his former player and added "I wish I could have continued".

And many believe that statement from the former world No 1 was key as a source close to Ferrero has given insight to CLAY about how things unfolded.

"What happened is very simple," the source stated.

"The contract was annual. The 2025 contract ended at the end of November, and they waited until Saturday the 13th of this month to present a new one and until Monday the 15th at the first hour to sign it. Juan Carlos did not accept it, and they did not want to make any changes."

According to CLAY, when that contract arrived, he had two days to read and sign it. He made an obvious counter-offer that was not accepted.

'And that was the end of it. There was no room for further negotiation, or more likely, no intention to continue. Neither the 'Alcaraz clan' nor Ferrero himself wanted to continue under the current conditions.'

It was not just the lack of contract that played a role in the "break-up" as the world No 1's father, Carlos Alcaraz Senior, had not seen eye to eye with Ferrero as the publication added 'The relationship between Ferrero and Alcaraz's father had been deteriorating for some time.'

Another report stated that a source told CLAY and RG Media: "There were significant disagreements between Ferrero and Alcaraz's father about how to manage the player's career."

The "Alcaraz clan" have made no further comments about what led to the breakdown or what is to follow for the six-time Grand Slam winner with the start of the 2026 season just around the corner.

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