Is Joao Fonseca the new rising star in men’s tennis?

Joao Fonseca (Rob Keating, Wikimedia Commons)

Two years ago a colleague of mine told me that Carlos Alcaraz of El Palmar, Spain could be the next big thing. The last time I heard anyone be so complimentary of a player was when another colleague praised Novak Djokovic of Serbia about two decades ago as I was leaving his door.

Next up appears to be Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, who has done significant damage so far. Yes, folks. He is only 18.

Fonseca only became 18 in August, but had five ATP Tour wins in 2024 as a 17-year-old. He reached to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Rio Open, where he upset France’s Arthur Fils 6-0, 6-4 in round one and Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-4 in round two. From there Fonseca reached the quarterfinals of the Romanian Open, where beat Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 7-6, 7-5 in the first round and Radu Albot of Moldova 7-6, 6-2 in the second round. Then, Fonseca won an ATP Masters 1000 series match for the first time as he beat American Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of Madrid.

However, you could argue Fonseca’s finest tennis results have been since turning 18 in August. First, he beat Raphael Collignon of Belgium 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-4, 7-6 in Davis Cup action in Bologna, Italy in September. Then, Fonseca won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia before Christmas (beat American Learner Tien in the final, 2-4, 4-3, 4-0, 4-2), won a challenger event in Canberra where he beat American Ethan Quinn in the final, 6-4, 6-4, shocked the world by beating ninth ranked Andrey Rublev of Russia, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open, and then on Sunday, won his first ATP event by beating Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 7-6 in the Argentina Open. In the process, Fonseca rose to number 68.

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