Carlos Alcaraz recently won the Australian Open (Image: YouTube/Australian Open)
Tennis fans have been left feeling “sad” after Carlos Alcaraz’s former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero unfollowed the World No. 1 on Instagram. Just before Christmas, Alacaraz, 22, and Ferrero, 45, parted ways after seven years of working with each other.
His 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 Australian Open final triumph over Novak Djokovic’s was the Spaniard’s first title victory since parting with the coach he had worked with since the age of 15. Despite the breathtaking journey he went on with Ferrero, Alcaraz did not mention him in any of his victory speeches. He had an opportunity to do so in his trophy presentation, post-match press conference and celebratory interviews in the days after, and either forgot or choose not to. It appears this has had an effect on the famed coach, as he has unfollowed Alcaraz on Instagram.
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After seeing Ferrero’s subtle response, one tennis fan tweeted: “Sad situation for him…A scorned ex coach,” before another fan said: “It was always a business relationship. Seven years was a good run. He was a good coach.”
Interestingly, the Instagram page of Ferrero’s famed tennis academy is still following Alcaraz’s account. When it comes to the coach’s personal page, it appears he wants no online interaction with his former prodigy.
The closest Alcaraz came to mentioning Ferrero was in his press conference, when he was asked if he had any extra motivation to win in Australia to prove he can be successful without Ferrero. He replied: “No, to be honest. I don’t listen to the people who have doubts.
“I came here just to play for myself, for my team. We know how hard we worked to be ready for this tournament. And that’s all I was thinking about during these weeks. Now that I’ve done it, I’m just happy to have proved everyone wrong.”
Alcaraz won 24 titles, including six Grand Slams (Image: Getty)
Tennis outlet CLAY reported Ferrero and Alcaraz split because the latter gave him only 48 hours to review and sign a new contract, before rejecting a counter-offer from the coach. Ferrero did not divulge specifically on this, but he has admitted to avoiding last month’s Australian Open.
Explaining their parting of ways, Ferrero said: “We would have liked to finish in a different way. We already had the pre-season planned, and this happened quite suddenly. I didn’t expect certain changes in some things, but in the end, they happened. We couldn’t agree, and that’s it. You have to move on and respect each other’s decisions.”
He added: “Right now, I’m still getting over it. After a month, of course, it’s much more accepted, and I’m thinking about other things. I haven’t been following the Australian Open much.
“In the end, it always hurts a bit, doesn’t it? Seeing another team there on the bench, and the nostalgia of having lived so many things together. The memories are still raw, and it’s always hard.”