Brazilian João Fonseca’s historic season on the professional tennis circuit came to an end earlier than expected. This Thursday (30), he will withdraw from participating in the ATP 250 in Athens (Greece), which would be his last tournament of the year. The 19-year-old athlete will be treated for low back pain (pain in the lower back). The only commitment for the 19-year-old from Rio, currently number 28 in the world, will be an exhibition match with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (1st in the ranking) on December 8th, in Miami (United States).
Fonseca started 2025 at the age of 18, occupying 145th position in the world rankings, after winning the NextGen ATP Finals title (for tennis players under 20) in December 2024, his first year on the professional circuit. In the first week of January, he won the Challenger 125 title in Canberra (Australia) and rose to 113th place in the rankings.
The first of many 👀🏆
18-year-old Joao Fonseca claims his maiden ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires! 👏#OnTheRise pic.twitter.com/NlqYGwg8JQ
— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 16, 2025
Encouraged, the Rio native qualified in the Australian Open qualifier and secured a place in the main draw. And right at the debut of his first career Grand Slam, Fonseca surprised by defeating Russian Andrey Rublev, world number nine at the time. At the end of January, the Rio native entered the top 100 of the ranking for the first time, becoming the second youngest tennis player, after Alcaraz, to join the select group.
In February he won his first title on the professional circuit, the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, recording four victories over the home team. The following month, he lifted the Challenger cup, in Phoenix (USA). He then debuted at the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, when he was already 80th in the rankings. The Rio native also competed in the Miami Masters 1000 by invitation, advancing to the third round.
In May, the Brazilian arrived at Roland Garros as world number 65 and shook the Parisian clay by defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz (former top 10 and 28th in the rankings at the time) in his debut. Fonseca continued the French Grand Slam until the third round. In June, the Rio native was already 54th in the rankings, when he also shone on the grass courts of the Wimbledon Tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year, but fell in the third round.
In September, João Fonseca, then 45th in the ranking, was part of the Brazilian quintet that secured a place in the 2026 Davis Cup qualifiers. Classification was sealed with Brazil’s 3-1 victory over Greece. In one of the clashes, the Rio native defeated Stefanos Tsisipas, former top 3 in the world.
The Brazilian tennis player ends 2025 in style as the youngest player in the world’s top 30, after lifting his first trophy in an ATP 500 tournament of his career. Last Sunday (21) he was champion in Basel (Switzerland) and occupied 28th position in the ranking.
