Juan Carlos Ferrero will join Ben Shelton's coaching team for the 2027 season, working alongside Shelton's father and longtime coach, Bryan Shelton. Ferrero told ElRaquetazoTV, as reported by Yahoo Tennis, that he will not travel full-time. He has committed to 12 tournaments a year: the four Grand Slams, the Masters 1000 events and the ATP Finals. Bryan Shelton will cover the rest, and Ferrero said he wanted a second coach in place so he could spend more time with his family after eight years with Carlos Alcaraz.
The arrangement has not gone down well with some fans. One criticised him for giving too many interviews, and another asked why Ferrero would travel to Florida for Shelton but not make a short trip to Murcia for Alcaraz, where Samuel Lopez has been head coach since December 2025. Those comments are opinion from fans, not a statement from either camp, and the schedule itself is the only verifiable fact here.
The more substantive remark came earlier, when Ferrero described Alcaraz as technically excellent and already among the best in history. He said that if Alcaraz keeps the motivation and discipline to meet each moment, he has every chance to chase the sport's biggest records. Those are his words about a player he coached for eight years, which produced 24 ATP titles, six majors and eight Masters events.
For Shelton, the practical stake is clear: a coach who is present for the biggest events rather than the full calendar. Whether that model works will show in the majors, not in the interviews.
