Carlos Alcaraz passing more responsibility on his older brother as he promotes from within amid Ferrero departure

Carlos Alcaraz is still adapting to life without Juan Carlos Ferrero, albeit he is doing a very fine job without him. One tournament, one title with his Australian Open triumph in 2026 making history in tennis and cementing his status as a great at the tender age of 22. One of the reasons for this is the support he has received from his family. This includes his older brother, Alvaro, who is set to step into more of a coaching role in 2026.

Samuel Lopez has not taken up the coaching duties since the surprise departure of Ferrero back in December. It was the story of the off-season, with Alcaraz set to embark the ATP Tour without the man who had been coaching him since the age of 15, overseeing his rise to the pinnacle of tennis with a whole host of success mixed within. This includes 24 ATP titles, with the key stats of six Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 titles while cementing his spot as world number one past his rival Jannik Sinner at the end of 2025.

There was a lot of talk on whether he would be able to continue on the fine form that he had shown under Ferrero into the future without the former Roland Garros champion by his side. It turns out that he is doing just fine, completing the career Grand Slam while being the youngest to achieve this coveted achievement with a phenomenal showing at Melbourne Park, overcoming 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the final to tick off the final major tournament not on his CV.

Alcaraz has three brothers. The most well-known out of them is his older brother Alvaro. He regularly attends his younger brothers tournaments and acts and a companion to the Spaniard in his travels. With these changes emerging in the team, Alvaro is set to have a new more prominent role in the ranks, with Alcaraz labelling him as a 'second coach.'

Lopez will be attending most of the events with Alcaraz, but not all of them. This then puts the responsibility on Alvaro's shoulders to advise and guide the world number one.

“At some events, my brother will be the only one traveling with me," Alcaraz said in an interview with Marca. "It’s clear that Samu will accompany me to the most important tournaments of the year and to 80% of everything I play, or more, but my brother will be alone at some.”

He emphasised that Lopez is his main coach and the one who will take him into the future but having someone as close to him as his brother is something very much needed, especially with their positive relationship. He will provide more familiarity and support while Lopez provides the leadership and tactical mindset in the camp.

Alcaraz has shown the trust and faith in his team following the Ferrero departure. He could have gone into the market and picked up the most well respected and experienced coach to guide him into the future. However, he showed faith with who he already has, promoting through the ranks as he keeps the trail and tested 'if not broken, do not fix it' statement.

He was supposed to play in the ABN AMRO Open next week, but he opted to not feature in the event to rest after his Australian Open campaign, meaning that he will not defend his title. Next up on the Alcaraz agenda will be a trip to the Middle East as he sets his eyes on the Qatar Open title with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic also listed to feature.