Carlos Alcaraz left ‘tearful and speechless’ after blazing row with coach

Kiko Navarro has explained how he left a young Carlos Alcaraz speechless and on the brink of tears following an early exit from an under-14 tournament in Italy, lambasting the star for a lack of effort

Carlos Alcaraz was left in tears by his former coach Kiko Navarro following an early exit from a youth tournament.

Alcaraz has made quite the name for himself in the world of professional tennis – third in the ATP rankings with four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic final on his resume. However, the 21-year-old Spaniard has had to work for his glory over the years, with Navarro sacrificing a lot to help mould him into a champion from an early age.

As expected, it wasn’t always smooth sailing between Alcaraz and his former coach, with Navarro recalling a moment in which he was left irate at a 13-year-old Alcaraz following the under-14 Memorial Giuseppe Cassani tournament in Pavia, Italy. As per Revelo, Navarro explained: “It was my biggest telling off with him. I always joke that if there had been a camera on the train, his father might have fired me when I got back to Murcia.

“Later, I regretted it because I am a very close and affectionate person. Especially with him. But I think it’s very good to be demanding and affectionate and close afterwards. Especially in a world like this. It might seem like I’m very tough, but I’m not.”

While Alcaraz beat Enrico Wood in the first round of the tournament 6-0, 6-3, he bowed out to Francesco Maestrelli in the second. And while Navarro wasn’t too bothered by the 6-2, 6-4 loss in the grand scheme of things, he was left irate by the attitude of Alcaraz headed into the fixture.

He continued: “On the first day, he played well and won. I knew from the level of kids there that Carlitos could do well. I’m a born winner. Once I’m in a tournament, I want to win it, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Or at least give it my all. He wasn’t obliged to win because he was Carlitos Alcaraz. Back then, he was still nobody. But he was obliged to give it his all.

“In the warm-up at 8am, I didn’t see him badly off, but once the match started, exactly what I always told him happened, ‘If you’re obliged to do anything, it’s to give your all on the court’. There was no intensity whatsoever, and he lost. I was very angry.

“Apart from the fact that it was possibly one of the times that I have gotten the angriest with him, I think it got to him because the conversation was focused on the fact that there were a lot of people behind him who were making an effort.

“Starting with me, the sponsor (postres Reina) and his family. To go to such a faraway place and not give your all? That couldn’t be allowed. I told him, ‘We’re staying in Murcia; there are a lot of tournaments nearby and in the surrounding provinces. We’re not going to waste our time.”

According to Navarro, the message left Alcaraz with his “head down” and “almost in tears” and the Spaniard failed to argue his case for his performance. Fast forward to 2025, and Alcaraz is now working under the tutelage of Juan Carlos Ferrero and setting the world of tennis alight.

The youngster achieved his first major title in the form of the 2022 US Open, besting Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6, 6-3 in a highly contested game. Alcaraz added the Wimbledon title to his list of achievements in 2023, before enjoying a stellar season in 2024 where he defended his title in London while adding a French Open to his collection.

Alcaraz also achieved a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris representing Spain, narrowly missing out on gold to Novak Djokovic in the grand final of the competition. The tennis ace will hope to capture the Australian Open title as January comes to a close – the only Grand Slam which has evaded him to date.