Carlos Alcaraz’s former mentor, Juan Carlos Ferrero, is set to make a return to coaching on the ATP Tour, but the player whom he plans to help remains a mystery.
Ferrero recently revealed he will coach an unnamed player in 2027, which has inevitably sparked debate on social media about who it will be. Some have predicted the 46-year-old Spaniard, who guided Alcaraz to six major titles, will take over from Darren Cahill to be Jannik Sinner’s next coach.
Others have speculated that Ferrero may be about to take another young compatriot under his wing in the form of 20-year-old star Rafael Jodar.
Rafael Jodar responds to rumours about Juan Carlos Ferrero
After getting back in the win column with a comeback victory in his opening match at the Shanghai Masters against Thiago Agustin Tirante, Jodar, currently coached by his father, Rafael Jodar Senior, was asked about the Ferrero rumours in his press conference.
He responded: “Right now I’m going to focus on my next match, which is a very tough match. After this, I have two more tournaments, three in case I get selected for the Davis Cup for Spain, which will be a tournament that I am very motivated about. Then there’s about a month to think about the next season and to get ready for the next season.”
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Since reaching the semifinal of the Canadian Open, Jodar has recorded a tough string of results on the ATP Tour. He bowed out in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open before crashing out in round two at the US Open.
Jodar’s Asian swing then kicked off with a heavy opening-round defeat to Adolfo Daniel Vallejo Alvarez, losing 6-1, 6-3. Following his win over Tirante, Jodar will now take on Jiri Lehecka in his next match at the Shanghai Masters.
Jodar is looking to make a deep run in Shanghai in the hope of qualifying for the ATP Finals. With Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from the year-end event, Jodar is currently 10th in the race to Turin with 2,559 live points. As it stands, the eighth spot is occupied by Novak Djokovic with 2,840 points to his name.
Rafael Jodar gives update on his fitness as season enters final stages
The Shanghai Masters is the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, with the series culminating at the Paris Masters. With the season in its latter stages, Jodar was asked how he is feeling physically.
“Yeah, trying to getting there,” he replied. “I know I played a lot this year, but that’s a good reason, because I’ve done well in most of the tournaments, so I’m happy about that. It’s the first season, so it’s still a lot of things to improve and to learn this first season.
“When I finish the first season, I will be able to kind of analyse what I have to play next year and next season, and how I should approach the calendar and the schedule for me. But, yeah, the first season, I cannot, you know, like drop a tournament. It’s new for me, so I just have to discover them. The second season, I can select what tournaments I should play.”
In his debut season on the ATP Tour, Jodar won his first title and reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
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