Carlos Alcaraz's Former Coach Explains Why Leaving Him Was 'Best Decision Ever'
NewsSaturday, 03 May 2025 at 16:56
Coaching Carlos Alcaraz would certainly feel like a privilege for many coaches, but one of his former coaches doesn't regret leaving the young Spaniard.
During his tennis career, Alcaraz hasn't worked with too many coaches. There are some players, like Emma Raducanu, who like to change their coaches often. The 21-year-old Spaniard, on the other hand, usually works with coaches for a long time.
Throughout his professional career, Alcaraz has worked with Juan Carlos Ferrero, and only recently, he added Samuel Lopez to his team as his second coach. But before becoming a professional, Alcaraz worked with some coaches as a child.
At the start of his tennis career, Alcaraz worked with Carlos Santos, who coached him from the age of five until 12. However, after seven years together, Santos left Alcaraz's team.
Now, almost a decade later, the 44-year-old Spanish coach broke his silence about his previous collaboration with Alcaraz, and he did it in a very detailed way. Santos published a book called "ALCARAZ: The Forging of a Champion."
As a part of the promotion for his new book, Santos spoke to the Spanish tennis publication Puntodebreak, discussing his previous collaboration with Alcaraz. Santos explained that working with Alcaraz at that early age was incredibly demanding since he wasn't only his tennis coach, but he also took care of everything surrounding the youngster's career.
"During that period, from the age of 5 to 12, I dedicated myself body and soul to Carlitos, but not just in terms of tennis, but also in terms of physical preparation, nutrition, traveling with him, studying with him... there wasn't just the work on the court, but also the entire management that existed around it."
Santos also revealed that before publishing the book, he let Alcaraz's father, Carlos Alcaraz Gonzalez, read the book. The four-time Grand Slam champion's father didn't have any requests about removing or adding anything.
"I didn't really know who I could send it to; I only sent a few individual chapters to my mother, but very few. I also didn't want people reading it and changing the direction of what I wanted to tell."
"Once I finished it, I printed a copy and sent it to Carlos's father so he could take a look and tell me if he wanted us to remove or add anything. He read it and congratulated me, he liked it, but he didn't tell me to remove or add anything, he just left it there."
Santos also revealed that the book might include parts that Alcaraz and his team might not be happy about. Still, they stayed in the book.
"He liked it… but I suppose there were things that, if it were up to him, wouldn't have made it out. I'm not telling anything bad, I'm just recounting what my life was like during that time, but I have to tell it from my point of view. I've done it with a lot of love."
Santos revealed that at some point, there was a disagreement in the team, mostly because of a new sponsor, which was also why he chose to leave Alcaraz's team. However, a decade later, it's a decision he doesn't regret.
"On the contrary, it's the best decision I've ever made. It's obvious, just look at the position Carlitos is in. I haven't had a single nightmare about it."
"I explain this topic well in the book, I explain the real reason why I stopped coaching Carlitos. His father didn't take this very well, and from then on, our relationship cooled off a bit [...] Over the years, he recovered, but since the book, we've become estranged again."
"I don't know, I think I should be in a different position. In the end, I've done everything I could for that kid, to the point of changing my personal and professional situation."
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