Davidovich-Puerta, The Social Soap Opera: From The Flight To Miami To The Champagne Instagram Story

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina lost in the second round of Roland Garros 2026 to Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-3, but in the press conference on May 27 he told a different story: the sudden split with his coach Mariano Puerta, who had walked out on him in Paris a few days earlier, flying to Miami without saying goodbye to anyone and then blocking both him and his wife on the phone.

The partnership had started in January 2026 and lasted less than five months. Puerta, a 2005 Roland Garros finalist, had been picked by Davidovich to bring a new structure to the clay season. On May 24 the Spaniard had pulled off a heavy first-round win against Damir Dzumhur, 6-7(5), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3, saving a match point and playing the fifth set through cramps. Everything seemed to be in order.

Davidovich's account in the press room, however, tells another story. Team lunch after the win, Puerta says he isn't feeling well and goes back to the hotel. Two or three hours later a very long message arrives: he won't continue. No heads-up to the rest of the team, no conversation, just a flight booked to Miami. "He simply took a flight and went to Miami without saying a word to us," the Spaniard said. "He let us down as a person." Davidovich added that he had never argued with the coach, that he had thought of him as a good person up to that point, and that only later did he find out the same thing had already happened with a couple of other players. "Maybe the mistake was mine, for hiring him," he concluded.

Confirming that the break was total is one detail that turned the whole affair into a soap opera: the block. Puerta reportedly cut both Davidovich and the player's wife out of his phone contacts, shutting down every channel of communication. "I don't wish him any harm, but I hope the next athletes he coaches are careful with him," the Spaniard added.

Puerta's reply came on social media that same afternoon. An Instagram story with a glass of champagne in hand and a message that travelled around the tour: "There isn't a single coach, trainer or physio on tour who has even half the balls I do. Back to Miami." No technical explanation, no reference to the player, just a toast and a statement. From there, silence: the Argentine did not speak to the press in the following days.

Davidovich has already turned the page from a sporting standpoint, entrusting his compatriot Pepo Clavet with the grass-court preparation. The feeling lingers that the soap opera isn't over yet, because every new update on an Instagram profile, real or alleged, is enough to reignite the conversation. To Puerta's résumé, alongside the 2005 Paris final and his previous doping cases, a new chapter has now been added that tennis will remember longer than many results: the coach who left his player mid-Slam with a message and a flute of champagne.