"It's a financial issue" - Alcaraz's former coach dismisses on court issue between World No.1 and Ferrero

World number one Carlos Alcaraz's former coach Carlos Santos has suggested the reason for his split with former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero was due to 'financial issues.'

It is the big news at this stage of the off-season. While tennis is almost fully out of its hibernation, the stories are still coming out. Alcaraz and Ferrero's split is possibly the biggest to come out so far with many tennis fans and pundits questioning the reasoning for this.

The duo enjoyed a fruitful partnership. Ferrero began as his coach when Alcaraz was just 15, meaning they have spent seven years together. In this time, he has seen Alcaraz win six Grand Slam titles, eight Maters 1000 titles, 24 ATP titles, an Olympic silver medal and 50 weeks as world number one and counting with the Spaniard currently taking up that position thanks to an imperious 2025 campaign.

Santos was Alcaraz's coach when he was a kid. This was before he went to Ferrero's academy in Murcia. He overlooked the beginning to what would already be a decorated career for the 22-year-old with there still so much to win Nevertheless, Ferrero will not be there for it.

He rejected any on-court drama, stating that is was away from it. "No, no, it's a financial issue and a failure to reach an agreement regarding the time he spends with Carlitos at tournaments, trips, and so on," he told Eurosport Spain. "They want him to be exclusively with him, traveling to all the tournaments. And Juan Carlos doesn't want to go to all of them, or can't go to all of them right now."

Santos believes that it also has something to do with the Spaniard's father, linking it back to when his partnership with Alcaraz was abruptly halted. "Well, look, I hadn't thought about that, but talking to my wife, she mentioned it," he said ."Thinking about it a bit, in the end, Carlos's father is the one who's really in charge. Carlitos has nothing to do with it. I mean, Carlitos would have continued for as long as Juan Carlos wanted.

"I was with Carlitos for eight years, Juan Carlos for seven. The same thing happened to me: I wanted certain conditions, but his father didn't see them that way. And Juan Carlos must have asked for other conditions that his father also didn't want and didn't agree to. But at least Carlitos said some very kind words about Juan Carlos, and it really was a very important time for him. It was for me too, but unfortunately, I haven't had such kind words publicly."

It is just under a month until the Australian Open begins, with Alcaraz looking to win the fourth and final missing Grand Slam to his collection, having won all the others on two separate occasions. Despite the uncertainty on who will be in his box come the major tournament, Santos is not worried about Alcaraz form on court.

"Carlitos loves Juan Carlos very much and will always cherish his memory, but Carlitos is independent," he added. "He has absorbed everything Juan Carlos taught him and now possesses all that knowledge. He's read Juan Carlos's book; he knows everything. Juan Carlos has taken him all over the circuit, helped him with wild cards, with everything, and now he's absorbed everything Juan Carlos knew. He has no problem training with one person or another. He has a brilliant style of tennis that doesn't depend on anyone. He plays on his own."

Alcaraz will begin his 2026 campaign in the Hyundai Card Super Match in Incheon on January 10, facing off against his old compatriot Jannik Sinner. He will then turn his attention to the Australian Open commencing from January 18 - February 1.