Seven years ago, Juan Carlos Ferrero met a 15-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and helped shape him into a tennis superstar. He had spotted him at 12, already mixing heavy spin, flat shots, and net attacks in ways unusual for his age. When comparisons to Rafael Nadal began, Ferrero insisted Alcaraz should find his own path, saying, “I don’t think comparisons are very nice.” He was always protective of him, and that bond is why his split with Alcaraz tormented him. Months later, Ferrero admitted that “breakups are painful” and expressed his wish to meet Alcaraz and hug him. And it looks like Ferrero’s wish might finally come true at the end of 2026.

As part of the ATP No. 1 Club, formed in 2024 to bring all the top players together for a year-end celebration, the former coach-player pair will have a chance to meet in Turin during the time of the ATP Finals this year.

The club has 29 members from different generations, and every one of them is invited to the season-ending party. Ferrero, a former world No. 1 and the 2003 French Open champion, will be able to attend as a member, while Zverev joins as its newest world No. 1 and is set to become the 30th member.

This will be the first time the former coach-player duo might cross paths since the end of their coaching partnership in December 2025. The opportunity comes after both have been through severe ups and downs in their respective lives.

The coaching breakup started well for Alcaraz, who won the Australian Open title followed by a successful Doha outing. However, things started going south for him after he picked up a wrist injury during the Barcelona Open. “I would say that intrusive thoughts were the most difficult things to deal with in this process,” he said about his time away, during which he missed out on two Grand Slams.

Ferrero, on the other hand, had a difficult time dealing with the split and decided to take some time off from his profession as well. He later said he was emotionally better, but still called it a “significant breakup,” as he spent much of the year with his family, recharging at his academy in Villena — the very facilities where Alcaraz was shaped during his junior years. He reportedly rejected four offers from ‘Top 20 players’ and announced that he was not going to take up any coaching commitments till 2027 begins.

In interviews with MARCA, Ferrero opened up about the disagreements that ended his partnership with Alcaraz, while making clear that the split was professional rather than personal. He has since said enough time has passed for them to meet again, adding that a reunion would be positive for both.

“When that day comes, it will be a positive thing for both of us, and sooner or later it has to happen. It will happen,” he said.

Going back, the two shared several significant moments. Their partnership began in 2018 and produced 24 ATP titles, including six Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 trophies. Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner in those Grand Slam finals, rose to world No. 1 and earned more than $57 million in prize money along the way. In fact, he once described Ferrero as a second father, as the coach also picked up ATP Coach of the Year honors in 2025, the second time in four years.

The split then came down to a contract dispute. Ferrero and Alcaraz operated under an annual contract, but its renewal was delayed in late 2025. Both camps asked for different conditions ahead of 2026, and talks reportedly hit a dead end.

Ferrero said they no longer saw eye to eye on the future of their work and that some private situations came up internally, which he didn’t discuss further. He has discussed that Alcaraz’s family and wider circle may have influenced the decision, noting that major career choices are often discussed with those closest to a player. He also denied reports that Alcaraz’s wish to train more in Murcia caused the rift, saying the team had accepted that arrangement two years earlier.

Since then, the relationship between the two has been discussed widely. After defeating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final in Melbourne, Alcaraz claimed his seventh career Grand Slam title. During his victory speech, he thanked his current team without mentioning his former coach, an omission that drew criticism from the likes of Toni Nadal, who argued that Alcaraz should also have acknowledged Ferrero’s work over their seven-year partnership.

Ferrero, though, later said, “It didn’t bother me that he didn’t mention me,” and added that he treasures the message Alcaraz sent when they parted, thanking him for everything and calling him key to his success.

Watching Alcaraz play now leaves him hoping everything goes right for his former player while missing being in his corner. In June, he told Corriere della Sera that he missed Alcaraz’s on-court attitude: aggressive, but always with a smile. In hindsight, he would change a few small things, he said, but not the essence, and he does not regret pushing Alcaraz to the limit.

Smaller moments have stung too. Days after Alcaraz won the Australian Open, fans noticed that Ferrero had unfollowed him on Instagram, while Alcaraz still follows Ferrero. He said it was not out of spite, and that he just needed time to separate himself, but Alcaraz kept popping up everywhere in his feed. He has also admitted that it hurts to see Samuel Lopez, a trusted colleague from his academy, in Alcaraz’s corner, even though he encouraged Lopez to take the job.

Understandably, this isn’t the first time Alcaraz’s former coach has expressed his wish to reconnect with his former mentee. He said something similar on the El Cafelito podcast in March, telling host Josep Pedrerol, “I want to see him and give him a hug.”

Ferrero felt a conversation between them was still pending, and he even suggested a round of golf together. He has also spoken fondly of the hug Alcaraz gave him at the 2022 Miami Open after Ferrero’s father died suddenly, saying the support in that moment was warm and heartfelt.

Contact between them has been limited so far. Ferrero said in June, “We don’t talk much,” adding that he wrote to Alcaraz and his team after the Australian Open and Doha wins and spoke to him when he got injured.

As for Alcaraz, when asked about Ferrero’s planned return, he said his former coach had told him nothing, that he was very happy to see him coming back to the circuit and that “it doesn’t matter who he coaches, I think it will be very good.”

Pedrerol asked Ferrero if he would return should Alcaraz ask, and he said, “I couldn’t say no to him.” He compared a reunion to a movie sequel, which is usually not as good but sometimes is.

Others would surely like to see it happen. Italian great Adriano Panatta, a former world No. 4 and the 1976 French Open champion, believes Alcaraz made an error in leaving Ferrero and said, “I would be happy for him if he went back to Ferrero.”

Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina went further, predicting on the Best Tennis Podcast that Ferrero will come back with Alcaraz in 2027: “For some reason, it tells me that he will come back with Alcaraz.” She did not buy the Jannik Sinner or Rafael Jodar links, though a reunion is widely seen as unlikely.

Juan Carlos Ferrero Predicts Carlos Alcaraz’s Fans’ Reaction, Reviving Jannik Sinner Partnership Talks

After their split, a major talking point in the tennis world has been the possibility of Juan Carlos Ferrero coaching Jannik Sinner. Rumors have emerged about the Italian scouting for a coach for the 2027 season, and one of the people on his radar is the former coach of his arch-rival.

Ferrero, too, hasn’t ruled out the opportunity of coaching a player like Sinner, who, he admitted, has been one of the toughest players to defeat, even for Alcaraz. However, in a recent interview, Ferrero said that this move might upset people in Spain, who might view it as a move against Alcaraz.

“If it were to ever happen in the future, I have already said that I understand that people, especially the Spanish, might be upset, in the sense that they might see it as a kind of slight towards Carlos and what he is capable of achieving,” he said, speaking to Spanish outlet AS.

“At the end of the day, I think I am also trying to grow as a coach and, if an opportunity of this magnitude were to arise, I think people should understand that. I will not go against anyone, least of all Carlos, if it were to happen. I hope people can understand that.”

And while there has been no comment on this matter from the Italian, it is widely believed that Darren Cahill might stick around with him till the end of Roland Garros next year.