When Juan Carlos Ferrero suggested he could return to the ATP Tour as a coach for the 2026 season, many tennis fans assumed he was talking about working with Rafael Jodar.
The Spanish teenager has taken the ATP Tour by storm in his maiden year, rising to a career high ranking of world No 11 as a result.
Jodar claimed his first ATP title in Marrakech earlier this year and he’s also reached the finals of the Washington Open and the semifinals of the Canadian Open.
The young Spaniard has managed all of those feats without a dedicated coaching team, instead opting to work solely with his father at the very elite level of the sport.
That’s the reason why Ferrero has been linked to working with the Spanish teenager and now he has responded when asked if that could be a partnership on the horizon.
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In an interview with Spanish radio station El Larguero, Ferrero said: “I’m not closing the door. He has tremendous potential, he has a lot of drive, he’s young, he wants to take on the world and if the offer comes, I’ll consider it.”
Ferrero has also been linked to coach Jannik Sinner as the Italian is expected to part ways with Darren Cahill at the end of the 2026 season.
Opening up about potentially working with Sinner, Ferrero did not rule out working with the current world No 1 during a recent interview with Puntodebreak.
“To grow as a coach and to have had the opportunity to work with two of the best players of this generation,” said Ferrero when asked what would motivate him to work with Sinner.
“Just because I coached Carlos doesn’t mean I can’t coach his biggest rival. That’s how the competitive world is; sometimes you’re with one group, and then with another. I just ask people to respect whatever decision I ultimately make. I would never wish anything bad for Carlos.”
While there does not appear to be any hard feelings between Alcaraz and Ferrero following their split at the end of the 2025 season, it would make for a fascinating wrinkle in the rivalry between the the Spaniard and Sinner.
Alcaraz and Sinner have only had one match in the 2026 season, which went the way of the Italian in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, but they’ve steadily become the best rivalry on the ATP Tour in recent years.
The pair’s current head-to-head record is currently in favour of Alcaraz, with the Spaniard having won 10 of his 17 matches against the Italian.
