Six-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz described his surprise split with long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero as a “chapter of life that has to end”.
The world number one surprised tennis fans in December when he announced he had parted ways with Ferrero, who had coached him since he was 15 years old.
BBC Sport understands Ferrero did not want to leave his role, but Alcaraz said on Friday they “closed this chapter in mutual”.
He explained: “We, as I said, both are still friends, good relationship. But we just decided like this.
“I’m really grateful for the seven years I’ve been with Juan Carlos. I learned a lot. It is probably thanks to him I’m the player that I am right now.”
The 22-year-old is aiming to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam with victory at the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday.
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Former world number one Ferrero guided fellow Spaniard Alcaraz to all six major wins and once described him as his “fourth child”.
“The whole situation is a bit of a strange one – I did not see it coming at all,” British player Jodie Burrage told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We can all speculate and guess but speaking from experience of stopping with coaches, sometimes it is innocent and there’s not too much in it, it just doesn’t work.
“But that coaching relationship was working – with what he achieved, how could it not be? It’s mind-blowing, really.”
Following the split, Ferrero told Spanish sport newspaper Marca he had believed things would continue as they were and that he would head to the Australian Open as Alcaraz’s coach.
However, the 2003 French Open winner said there were “certain issues” when it came to resolving contracts.
“Perhaps they could have been resolved if we had sat down to talk, but in the end, we didn’t, and we decided not to continue,” Ferrero said
“It’s clear that it’s been a radical change for everyone. Adapting isn’t easy. For me, obviously, it’s not a pleasant time at all.”
Former British player Naomi Broady said she could see “cracks” in the pair’s relationship when she commentated on Alcaraz’s defeat by Cameron Norrie at October’s Paris Masters.
“Alcaraz played pretty terribly. There was a lot of tension,” Broady said.
“You don’t really see it from him on the court but he was really shouting at his box and he was getting a bit back, so there were definitely cracks.”
Samuel Lopez – who joined Alcaraz in 2024 and has coached him when Ferrero missed tournaments for personal reasons – has remained in his team.
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‘A turning point’ – Medvedev and Boulter’s coaching changes
Daniil Medvedev knows what it is like to part ways with a long-time coach, having split with Gilles Cervara in August after more than eight years working together.
The 2021 US Open champion said it was “a big decision in my life”, but added: “In the end, it was the moment to do it, the turning point. It helped me a lot.”
After adding Thomas Johansson and Rohan Goetzke to his team, Medvedev went on to win his first title for 882 days with victory in October’s Almaty Open.
The 29-year-old, who won the Brisbane International last week, said it is “completely different” working with new team members.
“When I was looking for a new coach, I was looking for someone who would understand my game and what I’m doing on the court,” he said.
British number three Katie Boulter also enters 2026 with a new coach after splitting from Biljana Veselinovic late last year and appointing American Michael Joyce – the former coach of Maria Sharapova.
Boulter said it was the first time she had actively searched for a coach for herself, having previously had the help of the LTA to appoint coaches.
“Going out and find a coach yourself isn’t a process that I’m used to,” Boulter added.
A landmark United Nations treaty protecting marine diversity in international waters is due to enter into force, after 81 governments agreed to include it in their national laws.
In total, 148 countries, representing more than three-quarters of all UN member states, have signed on to the High Seas Treaty since it was adopted in June 2023.
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Countries that have fully ratified the treaty in their national laws include island nations such as Palau, Cuba and the Maldives, as well as some of the world’s biggest economies, including China, Germany, Japan, France and Brazil.
Coming into force on Saturday and officially known as the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), the treaty offers new protections to an area covering two-thirds of the world’s oceans and as many as 10 million different species, many of which are still unidentified.
Rebecca Hubbard, the director of the High Seas Alliance, a nongovernmental organisation that supports the treaty, said the agreement offers a means to protect an “extraordinary part of our planet”.
“The High Seas are full of life, from tiny plankton all the way up to the great whales that rely on them,” Hubbard said in a statement.
“We’re only just beginning to understand how important this vast, interconnected world is for the health of our entire planet,” she said.
“Whether it’s underwater mountains, deep-sea plains and trenches, the icy polar waters, or the open-ocean highways that migratory species travel, the High Seas are as vital as they are immense,” she added.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously described the treaty as “a lifeline for the ocean and humanity”, as it faces threats including “climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution”.
“Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity, share benefits more fairly, create protected areas, and advance science and capacity-building,” Guterres said last year, urging governments that had yet to ratify to do so soon.
The United States, which signed on to the agreement in 2023, is one of a number of holdouts, alongside India, the United Kingdom and Russia, according to a list of signatories maintained by the UN.
Countries that have signed on but have yet to ratify the treaty are not legally obliged to fulfil its requirements, but are meant to refrain from activities that are contradictory to the treaty’s objectives.
US President Donald Trump has announced that his country plans to withdraw from a wide range of UN conventions and treaties, although it did not include the High Seas Treaty in a list of 66 UN and international organisations it plans to leave, released last month.
At least 10 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza after the US announced the start of phase 2 of the ceasefire deal. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum explains what’s been happening.
Caitlyn Jenner has spoken out after the relationship between her youngest daughter, Kylie, and Golden Globe winner Timothée Chalamet continues to blossom
Daniel Bird Assistant Celebrity and Entertainment Editor
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Caitlyn Jenner has revealed her true thoughts on daughter Kylie’s rumoured fiancee Timothée Chalamet. The Golden Globe-winning star is dating Caitlyn’s youngest child, billionaire businesswoman and reality star, Kylie.
Timothée, 30, and Kylie, 28, have been dating for three years, with the actor being welcomed into the Kardashian-Jenner family in recent years. While they were once branded a publicity stunt, it appears Kylie and Timothée’s relationship has progressed further than anyone expected.
Recent reports claim that the couple have been living together for over a year and New York-born Timothée is said to be involved in the lives of Kylie’s children, Stormi, seven, and Aire, three, who she shares with ex-boyfriend Travis Scott.
Now, Kylie’s parent, Olympic legend Caitlyn, has spoken out about her daughter’s relationship. “I just want my daughter to be happy, and she is,” Caitlyn said. When asked what she thinks of the actor, Caitlyn responded: “Great kid.”
She told TMZ that she’d also seen Timothée in Marty Supreme, adding that Timothée is a “phenomenal actor”. She continued: “He’s a good kid, and he’s very good to Kylie – even more important.”
Earlier this month, Page Six reported that Kylie and Timothée are “basically married” – despite not yet being engaged. A source told the American publication: “They’re obsessed with each other and always together.”
And while Timothée has previously been extremely private about his personal life and relationships, he’s recently started opening up about his life with Kylie and has been spotted with her at various awards ceremonies, including the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Critics’ Choice Awards.
During his acceptance speech at the Critics’ Choice, where he won Best Actor, Timothée said: “Thank you to my partner of three years, thank you for our foundation. I love you. I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” as Kylie was seen saying back: “I love you.”
Meanwhile, at the Golden Globes on Sunday, where he took home Best Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance in Marty Supreme, Timothée once again praised Kylie. He said: “For my parents, for my partner – I love you so much.”
While the pair first started dating in 2023, they decided to keep their relationship under the radar. Just a year later, Kylie told British Vogue about their relationship: “Privacy is so important to me in life.” She went on to add about their relationship being private: “It feels so good.”
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The couple made their first public debut at Beyoncé’s performance at the SoFi Stadium on her Renaissance tour on September 4, 2023, where they were seen getting cosy in the VIP stand with Kylie’s older sister, Kendall Jenner.
Just days later, they attended the US Open Final together in New York and were spotted kissing one another during the tense match between Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic. Ever since then, while they hadn’t spoken about their relationship, they started attending red carpet events, such as the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards, where Kylie was honoured as the publication’s brand award.
The actor was left with a very short time in which to respond to the invitation to be honoured, from King Charles
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Idris Elba has told how he nearly missed his chance of a knighthood – because the letter asking him if he wasn’t to be a Sir got lost in a pile of letters.
Revealing how the honour almost passed him by, the Luther star said: “It’s a bit embarrassing. I was sent a consideration letter asking whether I would or wouldn’t accept it, but I didn’t see it as it got lost in a pile of post.”
Luckily, word went to his management that he’d had the invitation and needed to respond. “My agent told me that if I didn’t accept it would pass me by,” he tells Graham Norton on tonight’s BBC1 chat show. “By the time I found the letter I had only two days to decide.”
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Idris, who found fame in huge US series The Wire, said he had yet to receive his knighthood, which was announced in the King’s 2026 New Year Honours list.
Despite his long career on the screen, he was honoured for his anti knife crime work through the Elba Hope Foundation, which focuses on empowering youth and providing alternatives to violence. “I got it for services to young people and I was thinking, ‘Hang on a minute, that’s great, but I’ve been acting for 30 years!’ It is actually a great honour, and my mum is so pleased.”
And another family member is also delighted. Idris has told how wife Sabrina is already using her new title of ‘Lady’. “I haven’t had the sword on the shoulder yet, but my wife is loving it.”
At the time he said the honour reflected the efforts of the young people he has worked with rather than his own achievements. “I receive this honour on behalf of the many young people whose talent, ambition and resilience has driven the work of the Elba Hope Foundation,” he said.
“I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence.”
He has also called for greater accountability from the technology companies behind social media, warning about young people’s exposure to violent content online.
“When it comes to big tech, there needs to be accountability within their own policies,” he said last year. “It’s great that they are big companies that make a lot of money with lots of social media followers, that’s fantastic, but by the way we don’t like knives.”
The second series of his hostage thriller Hijack was released on Apple TV this week, with the action this time taking place on a train rather than a plane. Asked about his role as corporate negotiator Sam Nelson he said: “The first season was a big hit and people bought into so we’re going to do it again. The story is about what happens next after the plane hijack. It’s a good old-fashioned thriller.”
Also on Graham’s sofa tonight – fresh from her latest win alongside Stephen Graham for Adolescence at the Golden Globes – was Erin Doherty. Chatting about the second run of Victorian drama A Thousand Blows on Disney + – in which she also stars alongside Graham, she told Norton it was the first time she’d been able to use her own voice for a role.
Erin explained: “Surprisingly I’ve never been able to use it before, so it was a real joy. When Stephen Graham heard I was being considered for the role he said, ‘I don’t think she is what we are looking for’ because he had only seen and heard me as Princess Anne in The Crown. He was delighted to find out I’m from Crawley.”
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Other guests in tonight’s show are actors Wunmi Mosaku and Martin Freeman and there is a musical performance from Olivia Dean.
Seoul, South Korea – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner walked into an all-white hall dressed as the physical embodiment of yin and yang. Sinner, in all black, and Alcaraz, in a white top and black bottoms, were greeted with thunderous applause at the Hyundai Card headquarters in Seoul last week.
While their contrasting styles of play and on-court demeanour make the tennis rivals stand out as a modern-day example of the famous Chinese philosophy, the two superstars had plenty in common as they shared wide smiles and looks of astonishment in front of a large contingent of reporters, photographers and close to 100 employees in the South Korean capital.
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Once seated, Alcaraz turned to his right, glanced at his great rival and mouthed the word “wow”.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are in the midst of the biggest men’s on-court rivalry in recent years, but sometimes it’s hard to tell by their friendly demeanour [Handout/SEMA Sports Marketing]
Great rivalry, good relationship
Four years on from their first ATP tour meeting in France, the duo steal the limelight and headlines wherever they go.
It’s a far cry from what Alcaraz had imagined when Sinner said, in November 2021, that he hoped to face his opponent in many more matches.
“I was sure that we were going to play more [after that match], but probably at the beginning of tournaments – the first, second rounds”, Alcaraz told Al Jazeera in Seoul.
The Spaniard believes that over the years, the pair has “pushed each other to be better” and helped each other reach a level where their meetings are usually reserved for the tail-end of major tournaments.
“It is a gift that we are playing in the semifinals, the finals in the majors, in the biggest tournaments of the world,” Alcaraz said.
“Having a look back, seeing everything we have achieved … we both pushed each other to be better, to be 100 percent [at our game]. It was a great moment that match, that moment we had at the net, and everything we’ve been through over the years”.
“Sincaraz” – as Alcaraz and Sinner have come to be known – have dominated the men’s tour for two years, splitting the sport’s biggest titles and trading the No 1 rank between themselves.
When asked to recall his thoughts from their meeting in Paris, where their rivalry first began, Sinner responded with modesty.
“When I said that ‘I hope we can play some more matches,’ it was more of a hope for me because I was very sure [Carlos] would arrive at the stage where he is right now. But I was not sure if I could ever be in the position where I am in right now,” the Italian said.
“But it turned out to be a great rivalry between us, and it also goes off the court because we have a good relationship.”
Sinner and Alcaraz played a friendly table tennis match [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]
The ‘Sincaraz’ era
In a sport defined by individual excellence, relationships between elite players have always fascinated fans and helped generate interest in the sport.
Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe represented emotional extremes; Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi embodied restraint versus rebellion; Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal offered contrasting aesthetics and physicality. At the height of their rivalry, Federer and Nadal toured the world together, playing exhibitions and supporting charities across Europe and Africa.
In Seoul, Alcaraz and Sinner offered a glimpse of a similar dynamic.
Over four days, the pair were almost inseparable.
After their opening news conference, Alcaraz and Sinner moved to the lobby, where cheering employees watched the pair laugh their way through a friendly table tennis match.
In keeping with the marketing needs of the time, Sincaraz filmed playful short videos, completed trending challenges and fielded light-hearted questions. One clip, in which Sinner laughed as Alcaraz attempted to say “Hi, I’m Carlos Alcaraz” in Korean, went viral in no time.
The relaxed mood carried into their exhibition tennis match.
Following in the footsteps of legends such as Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz and Sinner played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Both players took time to find rhythm early, with Alcaraz committing several unforced errors in his first appearance since November.
But as the spectacle took over, the Spaniard began unleashing “tweener” winners.
Alcaraz put all his tricks on show in the exhibition match at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]
The opponents repeatedly turned towards the crowd fielding Spanish and Italian flags and responded to shouts of “I love you” and “You’re handsome” with fist bumps and finger hearts.
At one point, Sinner – the one less accustomed to exhibition theatrics – invited a young boy from the front row to play a point with Alcaraz while he sat among the fans and cheered him on.
The intensity rose sharply in the second set, particularly in the tiebreak, when a pair of high-speed serves from Alcaraz helped set up match point.
When Sinner’s final forehand found the net, the two met with an embrace, just the way they have in all “Sincaraz” matches until now.
“Jannik, we finished the [last] season playing together, we [have] started the season playing together”, Alcaraz said to his contemporary after the match.
“So hopefully this season is going to be a good one like last year. Hopefully see you on [championship] Sundays.”
The pair embraced at the net after the match [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]
‘Just getting started’
In the concourses outside the arena, the fans were evenly split between the top two players.
“My personal favourite is Sinner, but it seems like there’s more hype with Alcaraz in the country due to his flashy playing style,” Choi In-sik, who travelled 40km (25 miles) from Seoul to Incheon to watch the match with his girlfriend, told Al Jazeera.
“The two seem to go back and forth every time they play, but I think Sinner has shown he is stronger on hard courts. So, I think he will three-peat at the Australian Open later this month”.
Kim Ju-hee attended with a friend from her tennis club and said the match had dominated conversations all week.
“But compared to the Big 3 [Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic], Sinner and Alcaraz are not there yet,” she said. “They’re just getting started now.”
For Lee Gew-chon, who says tennis has grown enormously in South Korea since he first picked up a racquet 15 years ago, the event was unforgettable.
“It’s not easy at all to see the world’s two top players in your home country, but it’s also not easy to see them at a Grand Slam where tickets are hard to come by,” he said. “Even with tickets, both players would have to make the finals for you to see them clash.”
Broadcasters in Spain, Italy and the United States streamed the match live, while within the region, India and Japan also streamed the event.
An initial report by Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed that both players received a $2.3m appearance fee, but a representative from event organiser SEMA Sports Marketing quashed the report. The South Korean daily No Cut News put the amount closer to $1.35m for each player, referring to its own industry source.
Alcaraz and Sinner played in front of a sold-out arena [Jung Yeon-je/AFP]
Back to business in Australia
Over the past 18 months and two Grand Slam seasons, Alcaraz and Sinner have traded the No 1 rank and split eight Grand Slam titles between them, meeting in three consecutive major finals.
Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 10-6, but Sinner won their most recent encounter at the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
As a result, the Seoul exhibition was widely viewed as a preview of a potential Australian Open final. Alcaraz is chasing his first title at the event to complete his career Grand Slam, while Sinner has his own opportunity to do so later this year at Roland Garros in Paris.
Despite their friendly exchanges in South Korea, the players were mindful of the competitive nature of their relationship.
“Today’s game is helpful to see if Jannik changes something in his game,” Alcaraz quipped after the exhibition match. “I wouldn’t say [he did today],” he added, hinting that both are careful not to reveal too much to each other.
“I wouldn’t take anything from today’s match. We will see in Australia. I will watch his matches for sure.”
In addition to paying close attention to “the small details” of his rival’s game, Sinner also stressed that the two rivals’ dominance offers little margin for complacency.
“At the moment, there are many other great players. So, if we drop [our level] just a little bit, they’re going to take our place,” the defending Australian Open champion said. “So, it’s great to have [Carlos] push me to the limit. Hopefully, I can improve every time when we play.”
Only a small group of players have beaten either man in recent years.
The United Kingdom’s No 1, Jack Draper, defeated Alcaraz in the semifinals of Indian Wells – the so-called “fifth grand slam” – last season, while attention in Melbourne will again fall on Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion chasing an 11th Australian Open title.
