Serena Williams' ex-coach gives massive prediction for Carlos Alcaraz despite Australian Open loss

Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci boldly predicted Carlos Alcaraz's return to the World No. 1 position. Alcaraz reached the No. 1 ranking following his title triumph at the 2022 US Open. However, in 2023, Novak Djokovic dethroned him, and the Serb himself was replaced as the top-ranked men's singles player in the world by Jannik Sinner last year.

Macci, who famously coached both Venus and Serena Williams during the legendary sisters' childhood years, recently took to X and wrote that the rest of the 2025 season will be all about showing mental strength for Alcaraz. According to Macci, if the Spaniard manages to remain mentally strong, he can once again become the ATP No. 1.

"The rest of year will give us a better inner snapshot of the mental strength and overall glue in his game and for the Spanish Magician to grab a few Slams and regain his Pole position. @carlosalcaraz," Macci wrote.

Carlos Alcaraz was in red-hot form at the 2025 Australian Open, having dropped a single set on his way to the quarterfinals. However, in the quarters, things went south for the Spaniard, as an injury-stricken Novak Djokovic remarkably outplayed him in four sets. Alcaraz later revealed the "biggest mistake" he felt he made against the Serb.

Ultimately, it was the Spaniard's rival Jannik Sinner who once again tasted glory in Melbourne. Patrick Mouratoglou, another ex-coach of Serena Williams, recently compared the two while refusing to rate Sinner above Alcaraz.

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"I don't think Jannik Sinner is above Carlos Alcaraz" - Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou

Jannik Sinner with the 2025 Australian Open men's singles trophy (Source: Getty)

Iconic French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who guided Serena Williams to ten of her 23 singles Major titles, recently opined that there's very little to separate Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. According to Mouratoglou, while Sinner is undoubtedly deserving of his current No. 1 ranking, he always finds the going tough when he faces Alcaraz.

"Jannik is not above everyone. I don't think he is above Carlos. I think when Carlos is at his best, there is a real match and I'm not sure who's gonna win. Nobody can say who's gonna win. And all their matches have been extremely close, extremely uncertain, and Carlos won some big ones against him. So I wouldn't say that he is above. I think those two players, him and Carlos, are above everyone else," Mouratoglou said in a video he posted on his Instagram.

Last year, Alcaraz defeated Sinner on three occasions; in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, at the same stage at the French Open, and then in the final of the China Open.

Alcaraz's next outing is set to come at the 2025 ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.