The shocking coaching announcements just keep on coming as world No3 David Ferrer revealed on Sunday that he has split with his long-time coach Javier Piles and will be working with Jose Altur from the start of the 2014 season.

The 31-year-old Spaniard has been with Piles for almost 15 years and Ferrer made the surprising reveal during a conference call ahead of the upcoming Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) in Abu Dhabi.

“Tomorrow I will make a statement because I finished my relation with my coach Javier Piles three or four days ago,” said Ferrer. “I am sad because it was a very familial relationship and next year I will begin with Jose Altur along with my same team.

“I broke my relation with Javier, it was okay, we didn’t have any personal problems. We worked together for many years and we decided to end the coaching relationship.”

Piles has helped Ferrer rise to No3 in the world for the first time in 2013 – a year where he also reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.

The Valencian coach has been with Ferrer since his protégé’s teenage years.

Piles previously revealed that he used to lock Ferrer in the closet when he was young and wasn’t willing to put in the work on the practice court.

Since then, Ferrer has developed a reputation as one of the tour’s most dedicated and hardest-working professionals.

Ferrer will open his MWTC campaign against Stanislas Wawrinka on Thursday December 26 at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City.