Joao Fonseca’s rise in recent months has left fans and insiders speechless. The Brazilian ace’s talent had already emerged during the Rio Open a year ago, when he reached the quarterfinals thanks to a series of incredible performances for such a young player.
The current world number 99 had other flashes last season, but he often lacked a pinch of regularity to get to the bottom of tournaments.
Fonseca has significantly limited the number of his ups and downs in the latter part of 2024, in which he has had exponential growth in all respects. Joao won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah in December last year and – despite not having much time during the off-season – he started 2025 in the best possible way by triumphing at the Canberra Challenger and passing the Australian Open qualifiers without losing a single set.
Fonseca impressed the whole world in the first round of the Happy Slam against Andrey Rublev, who could do nothing against an opponent literally on fire who shot more than 50 winners from every area of the court.
The Brazilian suffered from the huge pressure on his shoulders and surrendered to Lorenzo Sonego in the next round. Joao returned to shine in Buenos Aires this week, where he reached his first final on the ATP tour. His last opponent is Francisco Cerundolo, who is a very dangerous player on this surface.
Regardless of the result of the final, there is no longer any doubt that Fonseca is destined to have a very bright future ahead of him.
An impressive rise
Recently, world number 194 Calvin Hemery – who was one of the last players to defeat Fonseca at the Lyon Challenger last November – discussed the rise of the Brazilian star: “When I last faced him, I immediately had the feeling that he was going to be a top player. He has a fluidity of movements that I have only seen in the best players in the world. It shocked me.
As for his weaknesses – like many young talents – he sometimes wants to close the point too quickly. However – in recent months – he has become more patient and consistent.”
Tennis World USA