Over the past few years, Juan Carlos Ferrero has played a significant role in the career of Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish coach took his compatriot under his wing when he began his professional career, and within years, he had turned Alcaraz into a Grand Slam champion. However, their road isn’t as smooth as it looks, as Ferrero has been embroiled in a controversy at the ongoing French Open.

During Alcaraz’s matches, Ferrero could be heard shouting on multiple occasions. Despite the new rules not allowing coaches to coach during the matches, Ferrero went ahead to give some advice to Alcaraz. A glimpse of this was shared in a video on social media, and fans weren’t happy with Ferrero for disobeying the rules.

One of the fans, who appeared to be closely following the two for quite some time now, saw a pattern in Ferrero’s actions. The comment read, “JKF has been doing exactly the same (sometimes even worse) for such a long time. Besides that, CA is looking at JKF all the time.”

Similarly, one fan couldn’t understand the reason behind Alcaraz’s coach not following the rules and was completely flabbergasted with the turn of events, saying, “JCF drives me insane with constantly chirping at Carlos, who can’t problem solve for himself. JCF calls plays for him, then Carlos does it, and then he looks at JCF and fist bumps. Being so dependent is not good for his game. JCF won’t always be there, then what?”

Further, one Twitter user highlighted what the fans may have missed and said, “That’s the main difference people don’t understand. Stef is never listening to Apo.” Meanwhile, one of the fans defended Carlos Alcaraz while calling out his coach, saying, “I completely agree and also not so vocal but before new ruling but very devious with signs!! At least Api was open about it and always has been.”

While this wasn’t enough, some fans even criticized Ferrero for breaking the rules. One fan said, “The double standards with this have never stopped blowing my mind.”

Despite the attention over an unwanted controversy, Ferrero is highly regarded in the coaching circles. The statistics speak for themselves, as he has guided Alcaraz to the top. As a result, he was highly praised by Roddick a few months ago.

Andy Roddick lauds Ferrero’s work with Carlos Alcaraz

Since joining forces in 2017, Ferrero has known Alcaraz for a long time. Over the years, their working relationship has grown massively, and Alcaraz has gone on to become one of the best players of the next generation. While highlighting this, Roddick went on to praise Alcaraz’s coach’s work over the years.

The American legend said, “He definitely doesn’t need another coach. JCF has been amazing. Saying his serve hasn’t improved doesn’t mean he hasn’t improved. Night and day from where he was two years ago. They’ve done amazing work.”

Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s recent dip in form also coincided with his coach not being by his side due to personal reasons. The Spanish coach had knee surgery, which forced him to miss big tournaments like the Australian Open earlier this year. Nonetheless, he is back now, and Alcaraz is looking good to win the French Open title.