Carlos Alcaraz is Gambling his Legacy

Carlos Alcaraz is a bit of a rarity in tennis. He was identified young as a prodigy by an elite coach, and then led by that same coach to greatness. That coach–Juan Carlos Ferrero–himself a Grand Slam champion whose time at the top was cut short by the rise of Roger Federer and his era–stood by Alcaraz’s side through the youngster’s many triumps.

Ferrero led Alcaraz to an impressive early career, a surprising maiden Grand Slam, and the pair have taken the sport by storm ever since. There have been some setbacks, sure–and the rise of Jannik Sinner as a great adversary was a bit unexpected–but it’s very clear that this partnership has been one of the greatest coach-player relationships in the sport’s history. And it’s been in such an impressive short period of time, too.

Which leads us to the risk of their shocking separation two weeks ago. No one saw it coming. And whatever the background reasons may be, the fact remains that the partnership is over. Which means that Carlos Alcaraz is gambling with his legacy at a very young age.

Many tennis fans and pundits expect Alcaraz to be at the top of the game for a long time. Maybe matching Novak Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slams is too hard to dream of right now, but double-digits seems a given at this point. Other than Sinner, it’s not like anyone else is a real threat to Alcaraz at this point. But what if? What if Alcaraz’s success takes a sudden nosedive? Or even a steady decline? Everyone will be able to point to this moment–the moment Alcaraz split from the coach who took him from a prodigy to the youngest #1 in ATP history–as the moment it all went away. If Alcaraz struggles from here, everyone will say that his success was only due to Ferrero.

Of course, like all gambles, there are potential benefits as well as risks. If Alcaraz continues to dominate the game, he will prove that he was the driving force behind his success, not Ferrero. He’s risking his legacy, yes–but he’s also taking a chance at keeping the legacy solely in his pocket, not shared with another.