João Fonseca, 18, didn’t see Fernando Meligeni reach the best ranking of his entire career – 25th in 1999.
He also hadn’t yet been born when Fininho said goodbye to tennis with the gold medal at the Pan-American Games in Santo Domingo, in 2003, or even with the last title of Gustavo Kuerten’s career, the 2004 Brasil Open.
Born in August 2006, the Rio native needed less than a year as a professional player to impress a legion of successful names in the country and cause excitement in the sport, with praise from stars such as Rafael Nadal and Boris Becker.
“The truth is that João really moves us,” Meligeni told Sheet. “Today we no longer know how far it can go. There is always caution, because we know that many things happen on the circuit. But, through ambition, we can dream big.”
Victorious in the second round of qualifying at the Australian Open, Fonseca accumulates a streak of 12 victories and two titles in less than a month – in the early hours of this Thursday (9), he faces Argentine Thiago Agustín Tirante to reach the main draw for the first instead of a Grand Slam.
In December, he won the Next Gen ATP Finals, which brings together the eight best athletes under 20 years of age in the season and had never been won by a South American. In the first days of this year, he won the Canberra Challenger.
“Of course, numbers can tell us a lot, but there are thermometers and parameters to understand a player’s potential. I laugh at the comparisons, soon they’ll say he looks like Rod Laver [histórico tenista australiano, que conquistou na década de 1960 por duas vezes os quatro Grand Slams em um ano]. You see the potential in the grip, the physical improvement at 18 years old”, said Ricardo Acioly, former tennis player, who was coach of Fernando Meligeni and Marcelo Ríos and captain of the Brazilian team in the Davis Cup.
“He’s already shaping up to be one of the greats. Now, where will he get to? Only time will tell. His right is scaring a lot of people today, he constantly serves at 220 km/h and in Next Gen, in one of the games, he did more parallel attacks than crosses, which is not common. He won the top 100 very easily. These are things that confirm to us that he is on another level.”
The boy’s team is headed by coach Guilherme Teixeira, with whom he began training at the age of 12, at the Country Club in Rio de Janeiro. It also has physiotherapist Egídio Magalhães Júnior and physical trainer Emmanuel Jimenez, constant presences throughout almost the entire calendar.
“I really like Teixeira’s work. He is studious, hard-working, and makes up for his lack of maturity on the circuit with dedication. He likes to work silently, he doesn’t even have social media. João’s off-court package, combined with unusual mental control, shows a player ready for any situation”, observed former tennis player Bruno Soares.
It is unusual in tennis, during professionalization, for the massive presence of professionals traveling to Europe and other parts of the world due to the high cost. The parents, Christiano Fonseca Filho and Roberta Fonseca, take close care of career management. The young man also has press secretary Diana Gabanyi, who worked with Guga for 13 years.
“He is absolutely interested in everything: speaking good English, better understanding aspects of his career and other points. This happens a lot for a European player profile, but it is unusual for a Brazilian,” said former tennis player Andrea Vieira , Dadá, who was the first player from Brazil to beat one of the top five in the world.
Fonseca had already proven his potential on the international stage by winning the US Open for youth in 2023.
“He’s the best 18-year-old tennis player in Brazil in history. That doesn’t mean he’ll be better than this or that one, but today he’s the most mentally, technically and tactically prepared,” said Fernando Meligeni.
“I haven’t lived with him, but I see very forceful and loose tennis. What is most impressive is his maturity at such a young age. Everything about him is well on its way to continue evolving, but the tennis path is long. He will need to make the changes for a long time. things well, have consistency”, added tennis player Carol Meligeni, formerly 110th in the ranking and currently 663rd.
After participating in the Australian Open, Fonseca will play in the Quimper Challenger, in France, and will have a commitment for Brazil in the Davis Cup, in Orleans, also in France. Later, in February, he will return to Brazil for the Rio Open, in Rio de Janeiro, with high expectations.
“I think that now there will also be external factors to prove it. The Rio Open, for example. He arrives in his city, at his peak… It’s another story”, said Dadá.
Former tennis player Jaime Oncins, who currently serves as Brazil’s captain at Davis and called up the boy to face France, is optimistic.
“I’ve had a lot of contact with him, we feel good things. He has a great structure and has carried out the processes in a well-done way, respecting the development of his body. He didn’t play a lot of tournaments before, he was well chosen”, he stated.
The latest list from the ATP (Association of Professional Tennis Players) has João in 113th position. The best placed Brazilians in the ranking are Thiago Wild, 76th, and Thiago Monteiro, 106th.
