Carlos Alcaraz has responded to the news that Ben Shelton is adding his former coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, to his team for 2027. The Spaniard weighed in on the partnership before seeing the official confirmation, and his answer reflected that. Alcaraz and Ferrero split in December 2025, ending a partnership that began when he was 15 and produced six major titles and the world No. 1 ranking.
The comments came after Alcaraz triumphed at the Vienna Open, beating Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4 in the final for the 28th title of his career and his fourth of 2026, after Doha, the Australian Open and Tokyo. The World No. 3 did not drop a set in five matches and closed out the final in 97 minutes, breaking de Minaur four times.
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Subsequently, Alcaraz was asked about Ferrero’s new coaching role during his post-match press conference in Vienna. Although Shelton had already confirmed the partnership, the seven-time Grand Slam champion remained cautious about believing the reports, as he had yet to see the American’s statement.
“Well, I haven’t seen that. I hear about it. Not sure who said that. Until Ben or Juanki says that, I’m not gonna believe that because we could hear a lot of people talking about me, who I’m gonna be coaching with. A lot of people are talking about the things that they might think or know, and we will see,” Carlos Alcaraz said.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz expressed his belief that Ferrero would be a “great addition” to Shelton’s team and would help elevate the American’s game.
“If it is true, I think it’s gonna be a great addition to Ben Shelton’s team, and I think Juanki is gonna, is gonna do great. And it’s gonna help him a lot to increase his level even more. So, I will be aware of him,” he added.
Ben Shelton recently defeated Carlos Alcaraz for the first time at the 2026 US Open, claiming a 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(7) victory in their closely contested quarterfinal en route to reaching his maiden Grand Slam final, where he fell short against Alexander Zverev.
Ben Shelton explains why he chose to team up with Carlos Alcaraz’s former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero
Speaking to ESPN at the Paris Masters, Ben Shelton opened up about his new partnership with Carlos Alcaraz’s former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, explaining his approach to landing on the best coach to join his father, Bryan Shelton, in the team.
“For us, it was important who we added to our team. We didn’t want to just add any coach. It was a very small number of people that we thought could be a good fit for our team, what we’re trying to do, what we want to accomplish, the type of game style I want to play. We thought that he would be a great fit,” Shelton said.
Shelton expressed excitement about working with Ferrero to better his game during the off-season, emphasizing that “evolving as a player” was his priority.
“I’m super excited. I’m glad that he also thought we’d be a good fit and that it would work out and took a chance on working with me and traveling again. I’m excited to start working with him in the off-season and putting in a lot of hard work. Hopefully that hard work pays off next year. Evolving as a player is the only option and we’re all on board to help me become the best version of myself out there on the court,” he added.
Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz are both set to compete at the Paris Masters next. After a first-round bye, No. 3 seed Shelton will face either Cameron Norrie or Matteo Arnaldi, while No. 2 seed Alcaraz is set to meet Jiri Lehecka or Alex Michelsen in the second round. The two players sit in opposite halves of the draw, so any rematch of their US Open showdown would have to come in the final.
Edited by Urvi Mehra
