{"id":76511,"date":"2024-12-03T14:59:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=76511"},"modified":"2024-12-03T14:59:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:59:14","slug":"carlos-alcaraz-hires-a-new-coach-after-poor-indoor-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/12\/03\/carlos-alcaraz-hires-a-new-coach-after-poor-indoor-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Alcaraz hires a new coach after poor indoor results"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a significant move ahead of the 2025 tennis season, Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> has announced the addition of Samuel Lopez to his coaching team. The decision, confirmed just a day after Lopez ended his nine-year partnership with Pablo Carreno Busta, marks a strategic shift for the young Spaniard. Lopez, who hails from the renowned Ferrero Tennis Academy, will serve as the Spaniard’s second coach alongside head coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. Not a stranger to the current Wimbledon Champion team, Lopez has previously collaborated with the 21-year-old at events like the Miami Open in 2022, Queen\u2019s in 2023, and the Australian Open in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As reported by <\/span>Marca<\/span><\/a>, Alcaraz\u2019s new coach will be in place for the Rotterdam Open in 2025, where the Spaniard will make his debut. The decision follows a season-ending indoor hard-court stretch where the four-time Grand Slam Champion struggled, including a surprising loss to Casper Ruud at the ATP Finals and an early exit at the Paris Masters. These setbacks exposed a need for better preparation in indoor conditions, a surface where Alcaraz\u2019s record (7-3) remains below his high standards.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Strategic Response to a Rollercoaster 2024\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

Alcaraz\u2019s decision to revamp his coaching setup comes after a tumultuous 2024 season under the guidance of Juan Carlos Ferrero. While he celebrated major triumphs with titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, a string of disappointing results overshadowed his dominance, especially on indoor courts. After an emotional gold medal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old experienced early exits during the American hardcourt swing in key tournaments. Although he rebounded with a victory at the China Open, he failed to sustain his form in the season-ending Paris Masters and ATP Finals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His struggles indoors culminated in a loss to Rafael Nadal’s Spain at the Davis Cup Finals, a heartbreaking moment for Alcaraz, who idolized Nadal growing up. Recognizing the gaps in his game, particularly on indoor surfaces, the four-time Grand Slam Champion strengthened his team, bringing in Lopez to bolster his preparations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Renewed Focus for 2025 <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Samuel Lopez\u2019s arrival comes with high expectations as Alcaraz sets his sights on a breakthrough in indoor tournaments. The Spaniard has conquered all other surfaces with eight titles on clay, five on outdoor hard courts, and three on grass. However, indoor hard courts remain a frontier he has yet to master, having never reached a final on this surface.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the Rotterdam Open as his first stop in February, Alcaraz will aim to refine his indoor game, especially with top players like defending champion Jannik Sinner<\/a> in the fray. His 2025 calendar already includes marquee events like the Laver Cup in September, where he will compete alongside stars like Taylor Fritz in San Francisco.<\/span><\/p>\n

Main photo credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a significant move ahead of the 2025 tennis season, Carlos Alcaraz has announced the addition of Samuel Lopez to his coaching team. The decision, confirmed just a day after Lopez ended his nine-year partnership with Pablo Carreno Busta, marks a strategic shift for the young Spaniard. Lopez, who hails from the renowned Ferrero Tennis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5286,"featured_media":63195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5729,5862,3601,91],"class_list":["post-76511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atp","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-juan-carlos-ferrero","tag-pablo-carreno-busta"],"modified_by":"Jim Smith","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5286"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76511"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76528,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76511\/revisions\/76528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}