Carlos Alcaraz won't work with one but two coaches in 2025, which will be a new experience for him.
The young Spaniard has worked with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero since his teenage years. Under Ferrero, Alcaraz became the ATP World No. 1 player, and he also won four Grand Slam titles.
The duo is one of the most successful coach-player duos on the ATP Tour, and there is no reason for them to stop working together. Although Ferrero was not present at some of the events in 2024, it never seemed like an issue for the young Spaniard.
That issue might be solved in 2025, as Alcaraz will now work with two coaches. Having two coaches is something that has become a trend in tennis recently, as many top players work with two coaches.
For example, Jannik Sinner works with Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, Hubert Hurkacz hired Ivan Lendl and Nicolas Massu ahead of the 2025 season, and for a brief period, Holger Rune worked with Boris Becker and Severin Luthi.
Now, Alcaraz will also have two coaches as he added Samuel Lopez to his team. The 21-year-old has the experience of working with Lopez, as he replaced Ferrero in the past when the former World No. 1 couldn't attend Alcaraz's matches.
The four-time major winner thinks that Lopez will be a great addition to his team, even though for Lopez, it was challenging to part ways with Pablo Carreno Busta, who he had worked with since 2015. In a conversation with the Spanish publication Punto de Break, Lopez revealed how difficult it was to tell Carreno Busta the decision.
"The week before telling him the decision was really hard… as hard as the two weeks that followed. I felt strange, it has been so many years, so many feelings, we both have so many memories together."
Lopez also explained the decision to hire the second coach. The job of a coach is difficult, which is why Juan Carlos Ferrero felt like a second coach might be needed to help Alcaraz progress.
"The years have gone by, there have been trips, tensions... many responsibilities fall on the coach, so having the support of a second voice is important. He is a figure who can give you freshness, especially now that Carlos is starting to be more mature and make some decisions."
"It requires absolute mental work where we all have to be fresh. If Juan Carlos has made this decision it is for the good of Carlos, because he thinks it can do him a lot of good."
Lopez also revealed that, according to him, if he had not accepted the offer, Alcaraz might have looked to hire Spain's current Davis Cup team captain, David Ferrer.
"They would have looked for someone, for sure. Someone close, I don't know... a David Ferrer? For example. For a player, the ideal is to have people close to you, who have known you since you were little, that's our philosophy."
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