"They wanted Andy Murray": How Alcaraz nearly hired the Brit before Djokovic stepped in

Recent reports suggest that Carlos Alcaraz tried to hire Andy Murray as his coach about a year ago — but Novak Djokovic stepped in and ended up securing the Brit as his own coach. The recent separation between Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero — his coach since his junior days — has brought this previously unknown link between Alcaraz and Murray back into the spotlight, a partnership that came close to happening.

According to Spanish journalist José Morón of Punto de Break, the break between Alcaraz and Ferrero nearly occurred at the end of 2024. At least from the player’s inner circle, there was pressure for a change, and at that time they reportedly wanted to bring Andy Murray in as coach.

The differences dated back to late 2023, following an inconsistent end to the season for Alcaraz and a weak showing at the ATP Finals, where he was eliminated in the semifinals. After a strong 2024 — with two Grand Slam titles — another poor finish to the year, including a second-round loss at the US Open and an early exit in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals, reportedly reignited tensions between Ferrero and Alcaraz’s camp.

“Juan Carlos is a very strict person. He understands work in a way that begins to clash with a Carlos Alcaraz who feels caught between a rock and a hard place,” Morón said on Punto de Break’s YouTube channel. “Carlos’ view is shared by his inner circle. They believe Carlos should have a bit more freedom compared to how strict Ferrero wanted to be.”

However, according to Morón, Alcaraz’s team began analyzing the possibility of a coaching change, and Andy Murray’s name emerged as a potential option as early as the end of last year.

“In 2024 the year was very good, but once again there is a stretch at the end of the season where Alcaraz loses his way a bit. After losing in the second round of the US Open, Carlos shows signs that he wasn’t mentally there, while Ferrero’s team encouraged him to keep pushing. Alcaraz’s inner circle believes this was caused by the way Ferrero managed his career. At the end of 2024, a moment of maximum tension occurred.”

“What has happened now in 2025 was going to happen last year. During last year’s negotiations, Alcaraz’s camp was not happy at all with how things had gone. Ferrero understands tennis one way, and Carlos wanted to go in another direction. Last year, the camp already wanted to do what has now happened: remove Ferrero and bring in another coach. They wanted Andy Murray.”

Although it was ultimately decided at the end of 2024 that Ferrero would continue — following direct intervention from the player — the tensions with the Spanish coach were eased by the addition of Samuel López. López reportedly gave Alcaraz more freedom, working more in line with what the player’s family expected.

“Carlos Alcaraz stops the idea of Juan Carlos leaving in 2024. The relationship between Alcaraz and Ferrero has always been excellent, extremely good, with no issues. Although Alcaraz was not 100% comfortable with Juan Carlos’ level of demand, he knew that having Ferrero was a very important asset. In 2025, Samu López joined as a second coach to help Juan Carlos soften the environment, among other things.”

“The family was delighted with Samu, who is more relaxed than Ferrero and allowed him much more freedom. Ferrero decided to undergo knee surgery at the end of 2024, which meant he could not travel to Australia in 2025. This went down very badly within Alcaraz’s inner circle. Things were not in a good place, and there was already a lot of prior tension.”

A few months later came the loss to David Goffin in the opening round of the Miami Open, after which Alcaraz took a few weeks off on vacation, at a moment when the world No. 1 position seemed to be slipping away — remembering that at the start of March this year, Jannik Sinner was suspended but still held a significant lead at the top of the rankings.

“It’s a complicated situation, and he goes on vacation to escape from everything. When Alcaraz asked for rest, Ferrero did not support that idea. Carlos starts to shine after the break, and everything completely falls apart in May, when the Netflix documentary is released.”

“The reality is that Alcaraz and Ferrero get along very well. A large part of Alcaraz’s current team comes from Ferrero’s academy. Samu would not have accepted the role as Carlos’ coach if it had meant any kind of conflict with the academy," the journalist added. "Samu is a partner in Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy, and the relationship is excellent. There is no bad blood. Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy will always support Alcaraz, and the doors will always be open.”