Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey has suggested that Carlos Alcaraz’s split from long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero could ultimately feel more painful for Ferrero, drawing on his own experience of coach–player separations.
Alcaraz sent shockwaves through the tennis world on December 17 last year when he announced the end of his partnership with Ferrero. The duo had worked together for seven years, dating back to Alcaraz’s debut on the professional circuit.
During their time together, Ferrero oversaw Alcaraz’s rapid rise to the top of the sport. The Spaniard won 24 titles, including six Grand Slam championships, and became the youngest man in history to reach the World No. 1 ranking.
Speaking on the matter, Petchey, who has also coached Emma Raducanu, said the bond between a coach and player extends far beyond the tennis court and the professional realm. He noted that a split can be especially difficult for coaches whose lives often revolve around their players for the duration of the partnership.
“I’ll tell you the one thing that I have always felt, and I have worked with a few players, it f****** hurts (post a split)! The one thing at the end of that really stings, I can assure you the one thing a lot of players won’t take into consideration is that you literally 24×7 are thinking about the player. If somebody asks you to work with them, it is the greatest honor and privilege that you get given to try and help them become the best versions of themselves on the tennis court, and to a large degree because you spend so much time with them, off the court as well. So when you go through this kind of transition and you help them and things get better, when you get to that inflection point whether they want to go in a different direction, it f****** hurts because there is a part of you that goes “Wow, was that what I felt as genuine as I thought it was,” and all of that effort you kind of put in, suddenly seems to just go bang, stopped,” Petchey said.
Petchey Suggests Alcaraz Split Could Weigh Heavily on Ferrero
Petchey said the split is likely to weigh more heavily on Ferrero as time passes given that he’s dedicated the better part of the last decade in Alcaraz’s development.
“I bet you right now that’s the overriding emotion for Juan Carlos Ferrero. In time, he’s going to look back and look at the success and go, you know that’s obviously amazing. But there must be a part of him that after everything he’s done in the last 10 for Carlos, you know, success always looks obvious in the rear view mirror, but it wasn’t obvious. Most of these players are just hoping to be good players, not necessarily what he’s already achieved. He would have gone above and beyond,” Petchey said.
Petchey also added that being forced to confront the end of such a deeply personal relationship on a short notice would be an especially painful experience for any coach.
“He’s got three kids, he’s got a family, he’s sacrificed that time. And then he gets given two days from what we are led to believe to make a decision of what he probably feels as a surrogate son. And that’s f****** painful,” Petchey concluded.
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