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Carlos Alcaraz's former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has admitted he unfollowed the seven-time grand slam on Instagram because he required "time to separate" from him after the pair split in December. Alcaraz, 22, and Ferrero, 45, had collaborated for seven years before the world No.1 announced the shock separation in late 2025.

Samuel Lopez, who joined Alcaraz's team in 2024, was appointed as his head coach for the 2026 season. In his first grand slam event post-Ferrero, Alcaraz surged to victory by winning the Australian Open for the first time. Despite experiencing a remarkable journey under Ferrero, Alcaraz didn't mention him in any of his victory speeches.

Shortly after Alcaraz's triumph in Melbourne, Ferrero then chose to unfollow him on Instagram. It became a situation one fan described as "sad", whilst another referred to it as a "business relationship" and a third labelled him a "good coach".

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Now, a month after it was revealed the duo no longer follow each other on social media, Ferrero has shed light on the situation and what led him to unfollow Alcaraz. He told Josep Pedrerol on 'El Cafelito': "I don't follow him because I need a little time to separate myself from him.

"Besides, if I look at Instagram, he pops up everywhere. In the end, I haven't achieved anything. You follow tennis accounts and tournament accounts, and it's the same.

"I didn't do it out of spite. I want to see him and give him a hug. To normalize everything that's happened, I think we still need to have a conversation. I'd like that," Ferrero added.

The closest Alcaraz came to mentioning Ferrero was in a press conference, where he was asked if he had any additional motivation to triumph in Australia to demonstrate he can be successful without his former coach.

To that question, Alcaraz replied: "No, to be honest. I don't listen to the people who have doubts. I came here just to play for myself, for my team. We know how hard we worked to be ready for this tournament. And that's all I was thinking about during these weeks. Now that I've done it, I'm just happy to have proved everyone wrong."

Alcaraz, who is on a 12-match unbeaten streak after winning the Australian Open and last month's Qatar Open, is due to kickstart his Indian Wells Masters campaign on Saturday. He is set to enter at the Round of 64 stage, with his opponent to be confirmed.

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