Alcaraz says seeing Ferrero in Shelton’s corner will be “weird a little bit”, but promises him “a really big hug”

Carlos Alcaraz arrived in Turin as the favourite for the one big indoor title he has never won, but the question he could not avoid on Friday was about the man who will soon be sitting in a rival’s box. Juan Carlos Ferrero, the coach who guided Alcaraz from teenager to world No. 1, is in Turin this week and will coach Ben Shelton from next season.

Alcaraz did not dodge it. “It is going to be weird a little bit,” he said of seeing Ferrero work with Shelton, in comments reported by the ATP Tour. “I think he is going to do a great job for Ben and do great things to Ben’s game.”

And on the reunion itself: “I will give him a really big hug.”

Generous, but not naive

The tone was warm, and it matched what Alcaraz said when the Shelton move first broke, when he called Ferrero “a great addition” to a rival’s team. What has changed is the setting. That was a reaction to news; this is the eve of a tournament where Shelton is also in the field and where the two men could meet in the knockout rounds.

Alcaraz’s praise is also a quiet acknowledgement of how much Ferrero knows. Nobody understands Alcaraz’s patterns, habits and pressure points better than the coach who built them. Saying Ferrero will “do great things to Ben’s game” is gracious, but it is also realistic: Shelton has gained a coach with a detailed map of the player he most needs to beat.

The counter-view: keep it professional

Not everyone has framed the move as a simple happy ending. Earlier this month, speaking on The Big T Podcast on 5 November, Brad Gilbert set out what he sees as the main danger for Ferrero. “You cannot make it personal that your quest is to beat your former player,” Gilbert said, as reported by Tennis365. “It’s about coaching your player to become a better player and not get personally involved.”

Andy Roddick, quoted in the same piece, took a more mischievous line about the ego involved in any coaching split: “You don’t get to number one in the world without some ego, right?” He also suggested that, for a coach looking for a player to take on his former charge, Shelton is “as good an answer as any”.

Those views sit on either side of Alcaraz’s. Gilbert worries the rivalry could become personal for Ferrero; Roddick suspects some of that is inevitable. Alcaraz, the player with most to lose, is the one insisting it can stay friendly.

Turin first

For Alcaraz, the immediate goal is a trophy that has eluded him. “For me, it would be a massive success lifting this trophy,” he said, adding that qualifying for and playing this tournament is “a really important goal at the start of the year”.

He also addressed his physical condition after some concern in the build-up. “There are some problems that came up which are normal I would say for a tennis player,” he said. “Right now I am just taking care of my preparation and I am feeling good.”

Alcaraz is in the Ivan Lendl Group with Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe, and opens against Tiafoe on Monday, not before 2pm local time. Last year he lost the final to Jannik Sinner, who is absent this time. That leaves Alcaraz as the obvious man to beat, which is exactly why the Ferrero storyline will follow him all week. For the format and the qualifiers, see our ATP Finals 2026 explainer.

Why it matters

Coaching splits in tennis rarely stay private for long, because the sport puts former partners in the same buildings week after week. Alcaraz has chosen to get ahead of the awkwardness with warmth and a promised hug. Whether that holds when Ferrero is in the opposite corner for a big match is the real test, and Gilbert’s warning suggests the pressure will fall as much on the coach as on the player.