Carlos Alcaraz’s 2026 season hasn’t panned out as he would’ve hoped from March onwards. The Spaniard started off by creating history as the youngest man to win the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open. He then backed the victory by winning the Qatar Open a few weeks later, but his Sunshine Double run didn’t yield any trophies, and neither have his first two clay tournaments.
Former player, coach, and commentator Rennae Stubbs believes Alcaraz’s slump could be attributed to his split from his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Former Coach Would’ve Been ‘Stringent,’ Says Stubbs
Alcaraz and Ferrero parted ways on rather cold terms in December 2025 after seven successful years together. According to reports, the split was sudden, driven by contract-related disagreements within the team.
Despite the chaos, Alcaraz continued his offseason with his alternate coach, Samuel López, without distractions, strictly focusing on his Australian Open preparations, and he delivered. During his post-victory press conference, he admitted that the weeks leading up to the tournament hadn’t been easy, thanks to the media attention around his split.
With his recent results, though, fans were left wondering whether the Spaniard had “lost some discipline.” Stubbs shared her opinion on the narrative on her recent episode of ”The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.”
“Yeah, it’s possible. It’s certainly possible. I mean, Juan Carlos would’ve been a task master, that’s for sure, being a former World No. 1 and a great competitor that he was,” she said.
The Spaniard appeared to be in formidable form in February, winning the ATP 500 title in Doha. His results, however, suffered a blow during the Sunshine Swing. Alcaraz lost in straight sets against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of Indian Wells. He then suffered a three-set defeat to Sebastian Korda in the third round of the Miami Open.
After an intense training block on clay, he resumed his campaign in Monte-Carlo, where he was the defending champion. Although the Murcia native made his second consecutive final, he was unable to stop arch-rival Jannik Sinner, who staged a historic run after clinching the Sunshine Double. More recently, Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open after suffering an injury during his opening match.
MORE: Carlos Alcaraz Discloses ‘More Serious’ Injury Has Forced Him Out of Barcelona Open
Stubbs feels the Spaniard has appeared “too lax” at recent tournaments. “It’s certainly looking like that right now, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have said that after the Australian Open, but a lot of that would’ve been just his carryover from the previous year and his confidence.
“Whereas now, yeah, maybe a little bit too lax in certain situations. Juan Carlos would be a lot more stringent on him. So yeah, I guess the answer to that is maybe it hasn’t been great.”
Incidentally, in the 2025 Netflix documentary “Carlos Alcaraz: My Way,” Ferrero expressed concerns about his charge’s approach to his career. He seemed to disapprove of Alcaraz’s off-court plans, vacations, and occasional parties. Known for his rigorous approach, Ferrero also left Alexander Zverev’s team in 2018 to train Alcaraz, citing a lack of professionalism from the German.
