Carlos Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, won't be traveling with his protege to the year's first major in Australia.
The 2024 Australian Open is just around the corner and is set for a historic Sunday start next year, on January 14, 2024, where 128 men will vie for the right to become Grand Slam champions. Alcaraz, who is among the favorites, will play at the event for the first time in two years.
Last year, the 20-year-old missed Melbourne's biggest party of the summer due to a leg injury and only began his 2023 campaign in mid-February in South America. Ahead of the new season, Alcaraz has no reported health concerns and will be on the flight to Australia.
The Spaniard will launch a fresh assault on the World No. 1 ranking that he lost to Novak Djokovic at the end of last season. However, Alcaraz must challenge the Serbian ace without a vital voice in his coaching team.
The absence of Juan Carlos Ferrero at next year's Australian Open has been reported by Spanish outlet MARCA, which stated that the former World No. 1 would undergo an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee and will be on crutches after the operation.
Ferrero has been a central pillar in Alcaraz's meteoric rise since he took him under his wing in 2019 at 16 and steered him to become World No. 1 and a two-time Grand Slam champion by age 20. Alcaraz is currently preparing for the new season at the Ferrero Tennis Academy.
Reliable sources claim that he is scheduled to play an exhibition match against his rival, Jannik Sinner, at the academy. Sinner has been training in Alicante, the same city where the academy is situated.
MARCA also reports that Samuel Lopez will deputize as a temporary coach in the absence of Ferrero at the Australian Open. Ferrero's expected return date on tour will likely be on March 6, at the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season in Indian Wells.
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