Carlos Alcaraz will be playing in his first Olympics next month but could be without his influential and vocal coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, in his corner.
Ferrero is a massive pillar of Alcaraz’s coaching team. He nurtured and honed his skills from a young age. The 21-year-old even regards him as a father figure in his professional career.
At this year’s Roland Garros, Alcaraz reiterated Ferrero’s importance after beating Sebastian Korda. He confessed to reporters following the win that he “needs” the 44-year-old by his side on a match court to receive coaching instructions.
On-court coaching in tennis is allowed, but it is restricted to hand signals, quick-noted instructions, and discussions, although not to the extent of striking a long dialogue.
Players who abuse the coaching rule can find themselves on the wrong side of the rulebook, as Stefanos Tsitsipas recently found out while competing at the French Open.
For Alcaraz, this is probably his guilty habit because he’s been frank about it multiple times during his Roland Garros success earlier this month. Ferrero is the heartbeat of his team, and the three-time Grand Slam champion relies on every word he utters because he runs out of ideas regularly on the court.
However, According to section K of the regulations published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in accordance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), coaching is strictly prohibited at the Olympics, and any player guilty of breaching this rule will be fined up to $20,000 and potentially even result in default.
“Players shall not receive coaching during a match. Communications of any kind, audible or visible, between a player and a Team Member may be construed as coaching.”