A usual surprise. It seems like a paradox, but it happens that the recently announced and unexpected breakup between Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero is common in the world of tennis. The direct and constant relationship in an individual sport so demanding among the elite … This causes enormous wear and tear on professionals who share countless hours of meetings and disagreements. It’s a bond that goes beyond sport and often extends into the personal sphere.
Here are some of the most recent and high-profile tennis divorces in the racquet world:
Nadal and Nadal
Rafael and Antonio, Rafa and Toni, both nicknamed Nadal, formed a model couple for almost three decades. One of the best tennis players in history and his coaching uncle grew up and toured courts around the world together from 1990 – when this Mallorcan boy was barely 3 years old – until 2017. Rafa won 17 of his 22 Grand Slams under the guidance of Toni, a tough and unyielding coach who instilled in him from early childhood the supreme values of sacrifice and resistance on which Rafa built his legend.
Toni Nadal himself summed up his philosophy in one sentence: “Yes, I was tough on him because I understand sport as improvement. What attracts me is to improve myself and I understood that success requires personal development. “I knew that with this I could improve Rafael’s character.”
It was an amicable separation. Family member: “I stopped training Rafael because I felt that my work was no longer bringing much and he was surprised. If I thought my decision might have affected him, I wouldn’t have stopped training him. In the end, the fact is that I stopped being his coach, but I never stopped being his uncle.
Djokovic & Vajda… & Murray… & Becker… & Agassi…
Another myth of this sport, Novak Djokovic, also closed a long period, almost 16 years, with his usual coach. In 2022, the paths of the Serbian tennis player and Marjan Vajda parted ways. The former Slovak tennis player’s relationship with Djokovic began in 2006, when the Serbian arrived on the professional circuit. With Vadja by his side, Nole scored 20 Grand Slams and remained number one in the world rankings for 361 consecutive weeks.
Vadja had long shown his boredom with his student’s hard life of travel and commitments, which is why he decided to incorporate into his technical team several assistants, some very illustrious, who also moved successively: Boris Becker (until 2016), Andre Agassi (until 2017), Radek Stepanek (until 2018) and Goran Ivanisevic.
Vajda left, but Ivanisevic continued… until mid-2024, when Djokovic announced the end of the relationship: “The chemistry on the court has had its ups and downs, but our friendship has always been rock solid,” the Serbian tennis player wrote. I love you.” Then came Andy Murray. It didn’t last long, until last May.
Tsisipas and Ivanisevic
Stefanos Tsitsipas was much less affectionate than Djokovic towards Ivanisevic himself. After leaving Nole, the Croatian coached the Greek tennis player, but the relationship never worked out. In fact, their differences were expressed publicly and obscenely.
“It is difficult to work with dictators who speak badly about you and who are not close to me or those around me. “Tennis is an individual sport, and he was neither mentally nor physically prepared. He must first recover, if he is not one hundred percent, how will he play against the best? You have to be ready to wait for his opportunity. “It’s a long road, there is no magic wand,” Ivanisevic replied. And last July, the breakup was confirmed.
Garbine & Sumyk
“A few words to announce the end of an extraordinary adventure. Two Grand Slam tournaments and world number one. More than grateful for these 4 years. Thanks Sam,” Garbiñe Muguruza wrote on her social media account ‘X’ (before Twitter) in July 2019.
The Spanish tennis player thus announced the end of her relationship with her coach, the Frenchman Sam Sumyk, whom she had hired in September 2015. With him, she was world number 1 and won six titles, including the Grand Slams mentioned by her: Roland Garros (2016) and Wimbledon (2017).
The Hispano-Venezuelan had several clashes with the French coach. One of these discussions, in Qatar (2016), took place on the court itself and was broadcast live on television: “I’m trying, tell me something I don’t know,” Muguruza told Sumyk when he urged her to improve her serve. “You seem to know everything,” he replied. “Of course,” Garbiñe replied. And he added: “I’m not going to die for the ball, not me.” It was impossible to repair the link.
Osaka and Fissette
In August 2022, Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka broke up with her coach, Wim Fissette. The reason, once again, is the exaggerated demands of the professional circuit. “We didn’t leave on bad terms, I just felt he needed a different energy and, at the same time, he’s a very ambitious guy,” said the Japanese athlete, the first Asian to reach first place in the rankings. I was getting injured and I’m sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon, so I would say it was two different mentalities; But he’s still a really cool guy.”
Carreño and Lopez
Samuel López, the coach who was already part of Juan Carlos Ferrero’s team and who will now direct the career of Carlos Alcaraz, closed just a year ago, in December 2024, a nine-year period alongside another Spanish tennis player, Pablo Carreño.
With the Alicante coach, the Asturian won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo after eliminating Medvedev and Djokovic, and was champion of the Masters 1000 in Montreal. And he reached the world top 10 (number 10) in September 2017, just after the first of two semi-finals reached at the US Open.
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