Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world No. 1 who turned Carlos Alcaraz into a seven-time Grand Slam champion, will coach American Ben Shelton. The move gives the world No. 4 a mentor who has both won a major and built a champion.
Under the plan, Ferrero will cover 10 to 12 tournaments next season, all four Grand Slams among them. He will share the role with Bryan Shelton, the player's father and current coach.
His experience of winning at the highest level and developing champions will be a huge asset to our team.
Ben Shelton, world No. 4
The two will formally begin during an off-season training block in the United States. Before that, Ferrero will be on site in Turin next week to watch Shelton at the ATP Finals.
A selective search
Ferrero, 45, had long aimed for a 2027 return and held exploratory talks with a mix of top-20 players and younger prospects. He negotiated terms with no one except Shelton, who had placed the Spaniard first on his list of potential additions.
I'm looking forward to contributing my experience and working together with everyone to help Ben achieve his ambitions.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, coach
Shelton, 24, reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, beating Alcaraz in the quarterfinals before losing the title match to Alexander Zverev, now world No. 1. Consistency remains a problem: last week in Basel he lost to Swiss world No. 222 Jerome Kym.
Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion, has largely stayed off the ATP Tour since his abrupt split with Alcaraz in December last year. He has since used a new book to burnish his image as a so-called supercoach.
Lessons from the Zverev stint
His only other attempt to enter a father-son coaching arrangement went poorly. Ferrero spent six months with Zverev, a stint that ended after a third-round exit at the 2018 Australian Open.
Zverev fired him, alleging Ferrero had been disrespectful toward his camp. Ferrero later responded by faulting the German's commitment to working like a top professional.
Rick Macci, the American coach who guided the Williams sisters as teenagers, doubts Ferrero can easily fix Shelton's technical flaws. Macci pointed to the player's backhand and return as unpredictable strokes at a level where margins are tiny.
