Has a quest to evolve triggered split?

The last time Carlos Alcaraz met Jannik Sinner in a tennis match, the Spaniard ended his post-match speech with a warning, “Hope you're going to be ready for next year,” the world No.1 said after losing to Sinner in the title clash of ATP Tour Finals last month.

- Shahid Judge

“Because I will be.”A bit of lighthearted banter, perhaps, between the two biggest names in men’s tennis at the moment. But it told a brief story of all the work and effort the players put in during the off-season — a prized phase between the last major event of the season and the first week of the new year. A period dedicated to vacations, reflection, analysis, preparation and a reset.

But now Alcaraz, the most unpredictable player on court, has made the most unexpected move. On Wednesday, the 22-year-old announced that he is mutually ending the seven-year association with his coach, former world No.l Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“Juanki and I have decided to end our time together as coach and player,” Alcaraz wrote in a post in Spanish on social media. “Thank you for making my childhood dreams a reality. We started on this road when I was just a boy and for all this time you have been with me on an incredible journey, on and off the court. I have enjoyed every step with you so much.

“We have reached the top, and I think that if our sporting paths have to separate it should be from there, from the place we always worked for and aspired to reach.