“Carlos Alcaraz definitely doesn’t need another coach” – Andy Roddick defends Juan Carlos Ferrero days after criticizing World No. 2’s serve

Former US Open winner Andy Roddick has come out in defense of Carlos Alcaraz's full-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. This comes just days after Roddick criticized Alcaraz's serving abilities.

Alcaraz has failed to win any titles after his Wimbledon triumph in July 2023. Though he has made deep runs in the majority of the eight tournaments he has played since then, he has been unable to add to his trophy cabinet. Most recently, he lost comprehensively to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Australian Open.

Andy Roddick attributed the Spaniard's title drought to the lack of bite in his serve of late.

During a chat with tennis journalist Jon Wertheim in an episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the American noted that Alcaraz's serve has lost pace and movement.. He also added that opponents are being able to read and follow the trajectory.

An X (formerly Twitter) user picked up Roddick's criticism and claimed that Alcaraz needed to hire a new coach to make the required improvement.

"Andy Roddick right on spot. Alcaraz needs a different coach who can teach him how to serve," the user wrote.

Roddick, however, denied the user's proposition and praised Juan Carlos Ferrero's contributions, writing:

"He [Carlos Alcaraz] definitely doesn’t need another coach. JCF [Juan Carlos Ferrero] has been amazing. Saying his serve hasn’t improved doesn’t mean he hasn’t improved. Night and day from where he was two years ago. They’ve done amazing work."

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A look into what Andy Roddick said about Carlos Alcaraz's serve

Carlos Alcaraz

In the episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Andy Roddick stated that the average pace in Carlos Alcaraz's serve has come down substantially since he won the 2022 Miami Open.

"I think his [Carlos Alcaraz's] serve leaves a lot to be desired. That is the one thing that I don’t think has really improved much at all in the last two years. I remember watching him, kinda his breakout – we knew about him – but winning Miami a couple of years ago and he was serving 135, and now I feel like he’s serving 127," the former World No. 1 said.

Roddick continued:

"It feels like people are able to firm up his first serve when he goes after it. You need to create a little motion on that serve, he needs to create a little bit of tail. Especially with how good he is on that first ball and how much he can bully you. Right now, even his slice serve feels like it kind of goes straight."