When parents interfere in their son’s professional career and influence the relationship with the coach, a serious disruption occurs, says Yevgeny Kafelnikov. In his view, the split between Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero, shaped by the father’s involvement, will ultimately have a negative impact on the player.
“Carlos is a grown man, he is the one who can make all the decisions now. I don’t know why he didn’t tell his father: ‘Look, it’s my own deal, we’ve been very successful together, won so many Slams, made so much money…’”, the former world No. 1 told CLAY in an in-depth interview.
“With Carlos being Spanish, very young, and attracted to all the off-court temptations that come with success… it must have been hard to deal with him lately”, added the Sydney 2000 Olympic champion, putting himself in Ferrero’s shoes, a former rival he shared time with on the ATP Tour.
Beyond the Alcaraz–Ferrero split, the conversation expands into some of the most pressing issues in tennis today: the packed calendar and exhibitions, the future of ATP 250 tournaments, and the arrival of a Masters 1000 event in Saudi Arabia.
The two-time Grand Slam champion also weighs in on Novak Djokovic’s future. The former player does not see the most successful tennis player in history winning another major title: “He can still compete in best-of-three events, but best-of-five… that’s practically impossible”.
Interview with Yevgeny Kafelnikov
– Firstly, one of the biggest stories of the year – the split between Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero. What is your take on the whole situation?
– Jesus Christ! Look, it’s always easy to talk when you’re not on the inside and you don’t know exactly what happened behind the scenes. Knowing that Juan Carlos is extremely professional – he was exactly the same as a player – I’m sure he wants the very best from his players, and his standards of professionalism are very high. Probably, with Carlos being Spanish, very young, and attracted to all the off-court temptations that come with success… it must have been hard to deal with him lately. It’s understandable – you’re 22 years old, all the girls are chasing you, there’s fame and everything that goes with it. Nobody could resist that at such a young age. Juan Carlos probably saw all of this and was trying to separate the work on court from all the outside noise. That’s probably where the clash happened, at least from my perspective.
– Do you think it was a mistake from Alcaraz to let Ferrero go?
– The biggest mistake is when parents interfere with the process. I don’t know the background of Carlos’s father, but I never liked it when someone does that… For example, in my family it was me who was making all the decisions. My father never interfered in how much money I was paying a coach or whether I was buying this or that. From what I heard, there was a big dispute between Juan Carlos and Carlos’s father. I’ve always said that these kinds of situations will, in the end, affect the player negatively – when parents interfere. Carlos is a grown man, he is the one who can make all the decisions now. I don’t know why he didn’t tell his father: ‘Look, it’s my own deal, we’ve been very successful together, won so many Slams, made so much money…’ That part is a bit disappointing for me.
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– We’ve seen that Ferrero has been very vocal in the box during matches. From a purely tennis point of view, do you think this will affect Alcaraz’s performance on the court?
– To be honest, I have no idea how he is going to react. But why would you end such a happy partnership in the first place? At least it looked like it was happy… There were never any signs that they would go their separate ways – winning Slams, being number one in the world… I am sure that Carlos’s father has a lot to do with this split, not Carlos himself. Now we just have to wait and see what happens next.
– Samuel Lopez is now working with Alcaraz. How difficult do you think it will be for Carlos to find a new coach and what kind of profile would that person have to be?
– If you ask me, I personally would not want to deal with the parents. If Carlos approaches someone directly, that’s OK. The first thing a new coach should ask for is that the parents stay away from the coaching process. They can sit in the box, they can travel with the team, but they can’t interfere. A father cannot be an agent, taking care of all the deals, scheduling, and everything else. I’m honestly not sure who could take the helm now.
– One of the biggest topics in interviews and press conferences this year – and the past couple of years, actually – has been players complaining about the schedule and the length of the season. What is your opinion on that?
– In my generation, we were very thankful that we even had a job, that we had tournaments where we could play and make fans all around the world happy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I never liked the fact that too many top players participate in exhibition tournaments. Exhibitions mess up the schedule. I have no problem if they play exhibitions and don’t complain. But if they play exhibitions and then complain about the calendar, that’s just not right.
– Yes, but Alcaraz, for example, responded to that kind of criticism. He said: “At a tournament, you’ve got to keep your focus and it’s really physically and mentally demanding for one week and a half. And an exhibition is just one day. You just stay focused, just warm up, just practice not that much – for one match.”
– Yes, but what are you chasing in exhibitions? The money? Nobody really pays attention to exhibitions – everyone is focused on the main events. What do you want to do, play for fun? OK, great, then quit the ATP Tour and play exhibitions. Look at it from the other perspective. When you’re a 17-year-old player, you want to play those tournaments, you’re chasing points and trying to build your ranking. And now that you’re famous and a top player, you don’t care about the Tour anymore – but it’s the Tour that made you who you are. That’s my biggest problem with players today – they don’t respect where they came from and who helped them become superstars. I hear some players say, “we don’t need 250 tournaments.” Bullshit! When you were younger, you were desperate to play those tournaments. Have some respect for the Tour and for what made you a star.
– Actually, what you just said leads perfectly into my next question – about the ATP basically trying to get rid of the 250 tournaments.
– It’s not a good idea at all. What are you trying to create? You’re trying to create this bullshit tour where nobody has a chance to break through. Young players need a pathway. In my time, we were playing Satellites and Challengers, fighting our way onto the Tour. Young players should know how difficult it is to become a world-class player. The 250 tournaments are necessary – they help young players develop and they promote tennis globally. I remember Alexander Bublik a couple of years ago saying that 250 tournaments are bullshit. This guy won three or four 250 tournaments this year, which helped him break into the top 20. On top of that, he gained confidence and became a better player. You need every step along the way.
– Along those lines – a new ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Saudi Arabia will be added to the calendar from 2028, precisely at the expense of 250 tournaments…
– You need to promote the game where it’s already popular. No question about it – people in South America, in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, they love tennis and they’ve earned the right to have tournaments. And Saudi Arabia… I’m not against it in principle, but for them to just jump in and get an event because they have a shitload of money – they can use banknotes instead of toilet paper… that’s not fair. You’re trying to get rid of tournaments that have sustained and promoted the Tour for forty years, just because Saudi Arabia offers more money? If we keep going in that direction, I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to tennis in the future.
– Considering everything you just said, how would you rate Andrea Gaudenzi’s leadership as ATP president?
– Personally, I like Andrea a lot. I remember him well as a former player. He’s very intelligent, but sometimes… for him, it’s hard to resist. He’s doing everything he can to help players earn more money, but sometimes you also have to protect the sport itself. Cutting five or six tournaments from the calendar – especially in places where tennis is popular – just to have a Masters 1000 in Saudi Arabia doesn’t do the sport any favors in the long run.
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– Do you think Alexander Zverev has missed his chance to win a Grand Slam title, or can he still do it?
– I have no idea. He’s 28 now, so he still has a chance. There are examples – Tomas Muster won his first Slam at that age. But the competition is brutal, with Alcaraz and Sinner completely dominating the Tour. It’s not easy to improve at that stage of your career, because it requires a lot of sacrifice – changing the way you train, changing many aspects of your game… It’s the same with Medvedev. Unless he does something fundamentally different, he won’t compete for a Slam again. There are many things they need to change, but the main question is – are they willing to be fully dedicated, 24/7, to get better? Sometimes players aren’t willing to do that. They’re comfortable with what they already have.
– What do you feel needs to happen for Novak Djokovic to win his 25th Grand Slam title?
– Honestly, I doubt that he can do it. He is the greatest player of all time, no question about it, but competing with these young guys… Novak is not even 35 anymore, he’s 39 now (in May). Believe me, the body and metabolism don’t allow you to recover quickly enough or move like a younger player. Nobody can beat nature. A 39-year-old is simply too old to compete with a 22-year-old in peak physical condition. He can still compete in best-of-three events, but best-of-five… that’s practically impossible.
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– What do you think motivates him to keep playing?
– I honestly have no clue. I’ve said it before – maybe he feels too loyal to his fan base around the world, to the people who want him to keep going. And that’s fine. Hats off to Novak for that. It just shows his courage and dedication. But I really can’t come up with any other reason why he’s still playing.
– Do you feel that Jannik Sinner’s doping case has affected his reputation around the world?
– A little bit, for sure. But it’s not up to me to judge. He’s great for the game of tennis. Look at what’s happening in Italy right now – tennis is exploding in popularity, even compared to football. The rivalry with Alcaraz is also fantastic for the sport, and hopefully it lasts for many years.
– I know it’s still very early since they’re both young, but when it’s all said and done, who do you see having the better career – Alcaraz or Sinner?
– It seems to me that Alcaraz is definitely more talented, but Sinner is more motivated and more dedicated. And if I have to choose between talent and work ethic, I choose work ethic. I’m leaning towards Sinner having the better career.
– Who can be “the third guy” – Joao Fonseca, the currently injured Holger Rune, someone else?
– Rune is out of the picture for me. You need to look at someone like the American kid Michael Chang is coaching now – Learner Tien. He can be the one. Fonseca as well. If they listen to their coaches, they have very bright futures.
– We’ve seen quite a few Russian players changing their nationality – Anastasia Potapova and Polina Kudermetova being the latest. How do you look at that?
– We can’t really do anything about it because it’s a completely personal decision. It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do. We kind of anticipated it would happen, but… let’s be honest, it’s not the very top players who are changing nationality. Potapova or Polina Kudermetova would never compete at the Olympic Games because they’re not top four in their country. By changing nationality, they see an opportunity to play in Los Angeles in 2028. It’s totally up to them – I can’t judge whether it’s good or bad.
– Lastly, do you see yourself traveling on the Tour and coaching someone?
– I am traveling, but not on the main tour. My nephew Evgenii is 15. He has potential, and we’re working on many things.
– So, you’re going to be like Toni Nadal?
– Well, he looks at me that way. He listens, asks his uncle what he should do – we talk all the time.
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