Most ridiculous comment I’ve ever seen

Carlos Alcaraz’s loyal fans weren’t pleased to say the least after listening to what Australian former ATP star Todd Woodbridge had to say about the Spaniard’s chances of success in 2026 following the departure of Juan Carlos Ferrero from the World No. 1’s camp. Woodbridge’s take took into consideration several past instances of Ferrero giving Alcaraz vital tactical advice during matches.

In a video that was shared by the official Instagram handle of the Australian Open, Woodbridge, a former doubles No. 1 and singles No. 19, claimed that Alcaraz will struggle for at least a few months in Ferrero’s absence, particularly at the Majors.

“I think it’s going to make it very difficult for Carlos to win a Major next year. We know he’s good enough, but that change at this point of his career, I find it mind-boggling. We’re talking about one of the greatest duos of coaching partnerships that our game has seen,” the 54-year-old said.

Subsequently, Woodbridge predicted Carlos Alcaraz’s fiercest rival Jannik Sinner to take advantage of the Spaniard’s situation and reign supreme at the Australian Open for the third year in a row. The now-retired Australian added:

“When Juan Carlos hasn’t been around the last few years, Alcaraz does not play as good, and you can see him looking out into the stands. He’s actually a little unsure of himself, and it’s going to take months to settle down. And then, will he settle? In the meantime, he may give others the opportunity to get some victories. Given that change, I think Jannik has the upper hand and he gets the three-peat.”

Clearly irked at Woodbridge’s prediction, Carlos Alcaraz’s loyal fans on X (formerly Twitter) flocked to the Spaniard’s defense and blatantly criticized the Australian. Several brought up how Alcaraz won multiple titles during his remarkable 2025 season without Ferrero in his box.

“Carlos won more titles without JCF last season. This is most ridiculous comment I’ve ever seen during past days,” one fan wrote.

“People doubting Carlos and he’ll just come back next year to win more titles than they want lol,” commented another.

“Some people need to just stop speaking. Carlos has won a major every year since 2022, and won most of his titles this year without JCF in the box. Yes, I’m sure at first it’ll be a bit difficult to not have JCF there, but he’ll be fine. It’s annoying that ppl are doubting him,” another fan chimed in.

“Don’t underestimate Carlos,” warned one.

“Seriously? Carlos got 5 titles when he wasn’t by his side,” another added.

“It’s comedy at this point and also false information. Carlos won more titles with Samu (Samuel Lopez; previously Ferrero’s assistant and now Alcaraz’s temporary head coach) this year,” weighed in yet another fan.

“Perhaps issues could have been resolved” – Carlos Alcaraz’s ex-coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

Through a revealing interview he gave to Marca in the aftermath of his removal from Carlos Alcaraz’s coaching setup, Juan Carlos Ferrero, without being too specific, cited ‘issues’ that had come up in negotiating a new contract for him to carry on as the 22-year-old’s coach. According to Ferrero, the two camps had disagreements that weren’t resolved through conversation.

“There were certain issues on which both parties disagreed. Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end, we didn’t, and we decided not to continue. That’s really what happened. There are points I won’t go into detail about, but we disagreed on them, and ultimately, we went our separate ways,” Ferrero told Marca.

Irrespective of what really happened behind the scenes, the fact is that as things stand, Carlos Alcaraz is heading into the 2026 Australian Open with Samuel Lopez as his head coach. According to sources close to the reigning World No. 1, his arrangement with Lopez is temporary.