Andy Roddick has declared that Carlos Alcaraz “definitely doesn’t need another coach” after claiming the Spanish star’s serve had not improved and “leaves a lot to be desired.”
The former world No 1 pointed to the “amazing work” Alcaraz has done with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and argued he is a completely different player than he was two years ago.
Ferrero has coached Alcaraz since 2019 when he was a 16-year-old and has played an integral role in the Spanish star’s rise to the top of the sport.
Alcaraz became the youngest world No 1 in ATP history after claiming his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2022 at the age of 19. The 20-year-old also downed tennis legend Novak Djokovic in an epic five-set Wimbledon final to win his second major crown in July last year.
The world No 2 has, though, endured a more challenging run of form since his stunning 2023 Wimbledon triumph, which was the last title he won. The Spaniard was beaten in four sets by Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Australian Open last month.
Speaking on his Served podcast, where he reviewed the Australian Open with journalist John Wertheim, Roddick identified Alcaraz’s serve as an area of his game that must improve.
“I think his serve leaves a lot to be desired. That is the one thing that I don’t think has really improved much at all in the last two years,” he said.
“I remember watching him, kinda his breakout – we knew about him – but winning Miami a couple of years ago and he was serving 135, and now I feel like he’s serving 127.
“There’s not a lot of motion to it, right? There are big servers, who serve straight through the court. And so, they’re are the type of servers that serve 136, but if you get a racket on it, you can square it up a little bit.
“And then there’s like the Roger [Federer] type servers that can serve 118 and the ball’s sliding against your racket and it just feels a little bit squirrely – so where you’re kind of hitting foul balls off the serve.
“Alcaraz, if he’s not hitting that kick serve – that’s getting you up and away and out of the zone – it feels like people are able to firm up his first serve when he goes after it. You need to create a little motion on that serve, he needs to create a little it of tail.
“Especially with how good he is on that first ball and how much he can bully you. Right now, even his slice serve feels like it kind of goes straight. It doesn’t have that like [Pete] Sampras swing on it where it’s tailing away from you and you’re kind of having to chase it.
“It’s like, if you read it right, you can kind of square it up and get that good pop sound to it. So I think the serve is the most obvious place to improve with Alcaraz.”
In response to a post on Twitter / X about Roddick’s comments on Alcaraz’s serve, a user wrote: “Andy Roddick right on spot. Alcaraz needs a different coach who can teach him how to serve.”
Roddick replied and defended the work former world No 1 and 2003 French Open champion Ferrero has done with Alcaraz.
“He (Alcaraz) definitely doesn’t need another coach. JCF (Juan Carlos Ferrero) has been amazing,” the American wrote.
“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.”
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