Carlos Alcaraz ended his widely successful player-coach partnership with Juan Carlos Ferrero during the off-season. They spent seven years working together, and in that time, Alcaraz went from a 15-year-old prospect to a six-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 1. Alcaraz had already tweaked his team at the beginning of 2025, adding Samuel Lopez as his second coach.

Lopez has a long history with Ferrero, coaching the Spaniard during his own career. He worked at Ferrero’s academy, where he also started helping former world No. 10 Pablo Carreno Busta. Together, they spent a year working in tandem in Alcaraz’s team, and they jointly won the ATP Coach of the Year award at the end of 2025.

When Ferrero left Alcaraz’s camp, Lopez stepped up into the head coach role. Coming into the 2026 season, a lot was made of the 22-year-old’s split from Ferrero. But Alcaraz, Lopez, and the rest of the team silenced the noise and enjoyed immediate success with the new set-up.

Alcaraz completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, and then lifted another trophy a few weeks later in Doha. He’s since had mixed results during the Sunshine double – reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells, but losing in round three in Miami.

The world No. 1 will now head to the clay season, with Lopez still in his corner. After a successful first three months as the main man in team Alcaraz, Lopez has now reflected on Ferrero’s departure, and revealed that he still follows the same plans laid out by his old colleague.

“I treat Carlos just like any other player. It’s not because he’s number one that I treat him any differently. But for me, it’s a huge source of satisfaction to be in the position I’m in. It’s a dream every coach has, but when it comes to working with him, I treat him just like any other player,” Lopez told Eurosport Spain.

“And I’m following the same line as Juan Carlos. It’s important to be consistent. I’m lucky that we were there at the start of Carlos’s career, along with Pablo. We shared many training sessions. And I know very well how he has progressed. And I know Carlos’s people. All of that is undoubtedly helping me to manage things well.”

While Alcaraz and Lopez have already lifted two titles together, Ferrero has struggled with the split, and unfollowed the seven-time Grand Slam champion on Instagram to give himself some space. Ferrero, however, recently admitted he would return to Alcaraz’s team in the future if asked.

And Lopez has also left the door open to a potential reunion in the future. The 56-year-old added: “The relationship is good. I don’t know what might happen in the future, but it’s not out of the question. It’s something that, perhaps, in time, could happen. Why not? It’s not a crazy idea. After spending seven or eight years with Carlos, there’s a fondness and a bond that will always be there. So it could happen.”