Phenomenon, sensation, prodigy. There was no small amount of praise received by Rio de Janeiro tennis player João Fonseca throughout 2025, when he won his first titles on the professional circuit and achieved important victories in Grand Slams and Masters 1000 – tournaments that distribute higher scores. The number 1 in Brazilian tennis opened the season in 145th position in the world rankings, rose 121 positions and closed the year among the 24 best tennis players on the planet. Not surprisingly, it attracted a legion of fans, including great stars of the sport such as Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. In a popular vote at the end of the year, João was elected Athlete of the Fans in the men’s category of the 2025 Olympic Brazil Prize, awarded by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).
João started 2025 in an overwhelming way, after deciding to give up on university tennis in the United States to embrace a professional career. A year earlier, the Rio native debuted in professional tournaments and finished 2024 as Next Gen ATP Finals championa competition that brings together the eight best tennis players up to 20 years of age. Confident, João started the season in January 2025 at the age of 18. Right away he won his first singles title, the Challenger 125 in Canberra (Australia) and jumped 32 positions in the rankings.
In his debut at the Australian Open, his first career Grand Slam, João eliminated Russian Andrey Rublev, the ninth best in the world at the time – Reuters/Jaimi Joy/Reproduction prohibited
Afterwards, João competed in the first Grand Slam of his career, the Australian Open, after securing a place in the main stage by winning the qualifying (qualifying). Bold, the Brazilian tennis player surprised the Russian Andrey Rublev – the ninth best in the world at the time – in the debut game in Melbourne, with a 3-0 victory. From then on, João would take off in the rankings and count on the support of the fans in other matches. The triumph over Rublev did not go unnoticed by multi-champion Djokovic, who at the time highlighted the Rio native’s qualities on the court.
“He is courageous, hits very well and is a complete player,” said the Serb. “It’s an exciting moment for Brazil, but also for the entire tennis world, because such a young player and person being able to play so well on a big stage is impressive,” completed the Serbianwith 24 Grand Slam titles.
A ⭐️ is born.
Brazil has a new Fenômeno and his name is Joao Fonseca!
The 18-year-old qualifier beats No.9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(1) 6-3 7-6(5)@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/lBYZunZEcq
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2025
Even though he said goodbye to Melbourne in the following round – João lost to the Italian Lorenzo Sonego – the Brazilian rose another 13 positions, closing the month among the 100 best in the world. Quite a feat: the Rio native had become the second youngest tennis player, after the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, to appear in the select group.
In February, João won his first title on the professional circuit, the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires (Argentina), with victory in the final over host Francisco Cerundolo. The Rio native climbed another 31 positions in the ranking, moving to 68th place. Number 1 in the world, Alcaraz congratulated his courtmate on social media.
Impressive João! 🔥🤝🏻 Many congrats!!! 🫶🏻🇧🇷
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) February 16, 2025
After lifting the cup in Buenos Aires, the Brazilian tennis player began to be invited to participate in major tournaments, such as the Masters 1000 in Indians Wells and Miami, both in the United States. João defeated renowned rivals such as the British Jacob Fearnley (in his Indian Wells debut) and the Frenchman Ugo Humbert, in Miami, when he qualified for the first time in his career in the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament. Between one tournament and another, he also competed in the Challenger in Phoenix, Arizona, and emerged champion.
In full meteoric rise, João arrived at the Roland Garros Tournament (France) in May already ranked 65th in the world. In his debut, he was not intimidated, dispatching the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (former top 10 and 28th in the ranking at the time). However, he ended up bowing out in the third round.
The Brazilian continued to collect victories over more experienced opponents. In June, at the Wimbledon Tournament (England) – the third Grand Slam of the year – João beat the host Jacob Fearnley and the American Jenson Brooksby and became the youngest tennis player to guarantee his place in the third round of the men’s singles contest in the last 14 years. João said goodbye to the London grass after a setback to Chilean Nicolas Jarry, who advanced to the quarterfinals.
Then, in August, João competed in the United States in the Cincinatti Masters 1000 and the US Open – the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season. In both cases, he stopped in the second round and took the opportunity to replenish his energy during a brief vacation period.
Refreshed after rest, João was one of the highlights of the Brazilian quintet in the Davis Cup, held in September, in Greece. A month after turning 19, and in 45th place in the ranking, the Rio native was part of the Brazilian quintet that secured a place in the 2026 Davis Cup qualifiers. Brazil sealed their classification with a victory over Greece, 3 games to 1. In one of the clashes, João defeated the former world top 3 Stefanos Tsisipas.
But the best was yet to come. In October, João Fonseca won the first ATP 500 trophy in his career. He was champion at the Basel Tournamentwith a victory by 2 sets to 0 over the Spaniard Alejandro Fokina – at the time number 18 in the ranking. The achievement already led João to end the year among the 30 best in the world. But he went further: less than 48 hours after winning the title in Basel, the Brazilian made his debut in the Paris Masters 1000: upset Canadian Denis Shapovalov, which occupied 24th place at the time. In the next round, the Brazilian was surpassed by Russian Karen Khachanov and said goodbye to the French tournament.
The historic season of João Fonseca ended in Paris, who, due to low back pain, withdrew from competing in the ATP 250 in Athens (Greece), the last tournament he would compete in 2025. Ending the year as number 24 in the world, the Rio native celebrated more than ever the decision made in 2024 to pursue a career as a professional tennis player.
“It was a wonderful year. Things happened quickly in our lives. My season started at Next Gen 2024. I reached the first Grand Slam main draw [Aberto da Australia]I beat Rublev and, from then on, it was only uphill. Very grateful for everything”, said the young man from Rio, during a press conference in November in Rio de Janeiro.
At the end of the year, João faced world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz in an exhibition match in Miami. “It was very special to play with João”, said the Spaniard after beating the Brazilian by 2 sets to 1 – Reproduction Instagram/João Fonseca
João Fonseca’s last big performance of the year was in an exhibition match against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 22 years old, current number 1 in the world, at the Miami Invitational, in the United States. The game started in a relaxed manner and, little by little, the Brazilian balanced the duel. However, Alcaraz prevailed at the end by 7/5. In the following partial, João was left on the court – he won 6/2 – and forced the match tie-break (tiebreaker set).
The Rio native remained proud against the Spaniard and took a 5-0 lead. When victory seemed headed towards the Brazilian, Alcaraz produced an exceptional reaction, living up to his position as number 1 in the world: he won tie-break by 10/8 and the match by 2 sets to 1, after 1h29min. At the end of the friendly game, both were all smiles. “I almost did it, guys,” said João in the interview, directly addressing the fans. With a promising future, it is not difficult to imagine clashes between the Brazilian and the Spaniard in ATP tournaments, which are worth ranking points. It’s just a matter of time.
