The media phenomenon of Fonsequization

Behind the scenes of Cazétv, Ben Shelton commented with João Barretto (reporter) and Felipe Campos Mello (Filmmaker and journalist):

“You’re here for João (Fonseca), isn’t it? The feeling is him, I’m not the famous.”

The chat was recorded during the cool spaces that have the Downtown Miami viaducts as a landscape two weeks ago. Far from Hard Rock Stadium, where Miami Open was already happening, the place was more than conducive to showing the circuit how the rise of tennis from the perspective of a cultural phenomenon impacted its.

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The darling brand of the corridors cast Barretto and Mello to ATP’s new Brazilian sensation, and one of those responsible for rejuvenating the tennis platform and boosting ON as a promoter of performance, culture and entertainment.

Parallel to the cool content and with a sports bias offered via Instagram in Posts Collabs with Barretto and Cazétv, the Global Reference brand also invited by ON, checked a lifestyle footprint to the event.

“We have an aspirational tone, and we want to feed the young audience, generate interest in the brand, even if they do not like tennis,” he explained to Alexandre Knebel, HEAD of marketing at Brazil.

And for those who are cutting especially an audience from 18 to 30 years old, João Fonseca is a very convenient media platform.

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A few days after the end of the tennis player in Miami Open, ON saw a 20% increase in its Instagram base, as well as record 1.5 million views of co-created content.

And the impacts of the João Fonseca effect on Miami were not restricted to the universe of their sponsor.

Also during the tournament, the tennis player was invited by Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi Arabia public fund supporter of Miami Open and throttle of tennis growth globally for an autograph session. The images made by Mello showed the frisson caused by the young man.

Here, the newest candidate for the unanimous idol of Brazilians caused ESPN Brasil: Fonseca’s fall in the third round led a 69% subscription TV above second place, becoming the most viewed game in the history of the channel in the sport.

While Fonsequization reaffirms itself as a national craze, its developments at the world level were also confirmed last week.

After the trendy Masters 1,000, Fonseca (18 years and 7 months) became the tennis player to exceed 1 million followers on Instagram. Until then, the post was occupied by Emma Raducanu (18 and 10 months), who had surpassed Carlos Alcaraz (19 years 2 months) after beating the US Open in 2021.

João Fonseca and the on

For the ON, let’s face it, the media deeds are not a novelty.

The impulse to the contents using the athlete started on last year’s Open River, when the brand didn’t even have a Brazilian Instagram profile, and Fonsequization was restricted to a tennis bubble.

Then came the expressive results of the Challengers at the end of 2024, followed by the wrap 10 Andrey Rublev, in Australian Open, and the first title in Buenos Aires.

“We measured traffic and conversion inside the site, and the numbers showed that in this period of Australian Open and Buenos Aires we had large peaks of demand for the tennis used by João,” said Knebel.

At the time of AO, as soon as Fonseca advanced to the second phase to face Lorenzo Sonego, the ON, silently, prepared a number of player kits (unveiled number) to market on the site. Without any disclosure in social media, the combo T -Shirt + Short worn by Fonseca in the tournament sold out in 30 minutes.

Fonsequization is still being absorbed and understood by ON. Tennis does not face the company’s racing market (more vertical training and trail). The proportion is 80/75% x 25/20%.

“It’s all very new to us, and for him,” admits Knebel.

Prodigy inside and out of court

For those who have been in Florida in the last two weeks, the media phenomenon João Fonseca has not been totally digested either.

“Perhaps Miami was the stamp of the phenomenon that João Fonseca is. He was probably the tennis player of the whole tournament. He is a kid of only 18 years, but who is very belonging to this level in which they placed it: acting naturally to the context of pressure, an idol, a top 10,” Barretto reported.

Responsible for registering daily harassment in images that give the digital narrative the dimension of the Fonseca effect, Mello was impressed by the way the athlete calls responsibility just when the spotlight is directed to him.

On the stage where he is a protagonist, Fonseca personifies an instinct against any extra-quadra intimidation:

“He has a driver of wanting to perform in situations of pressure and adversity. He is being prepared for it.”

And this care passes 100% through the Fonseca Center. The alignment between parents, Roberta and Christiano, businessman Gustavo Abreu, and staff technical was quoted by the three interviewed by the column as the crucial factor for early (and promising) success of João.

Shortly after the elimination in Miami, Abreu showed caution with excess exposure. In an interview with Estadão, the agent was exhaustive:

“Many do not understand that John is not an influencer, he is an athlete of high performance.”

The moment requires a shield for decisions to follow the sporting aspect. The entrepreneur’s premise is rational: John cannot be transformed into a marketing phenomenon or commercial before becoming a sports phenomenon.

Or, confirm your reputation of delinquent with the racket, the spirited nickname created by Barretto to define the “controlled inconsequence in the way of playing sneakers” of the prodigy.

In this tune, it should not take long for Fonseca to reach the elite of the world circuit. And when this moment comes, we will understand the real media effects on the construction and polishing of the image of the new Brazilian xodo.

In an era shaped by the creator’s economy, the line between athlete and influencer as well. Soon, Fonseca will show that her influence, of course, will architect a sports culture based on the performance worthy of the great exponents of tennis.