The Brazilian duo formed by João Fonseca and Rafael Matos begins your journey in Basel ATP 500 this Monday (10/20), in a duel against the French Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second confrontation on court 1, around 8:30 am (Brasília time).
Rafael Matos, 29 years old, has great experience in doubles. THE Sporting News Tell us more about the tennis player.
Rafael Matos: history and career
Rafael Matos was born on January 6, 1996, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, and is currently one of the main names in Brazil in doubles. At 1.80 m tall and left-handed, Matos has had a distinguished international career, including a Grand Slam title in mixed doubles and ten ATP trophies in doubles.
First steps and youth career
Matos started playing tennis at the age of six, at Grêmio Náutico União, in Porto Alegre, and at the age of 14 he competed in his first international competition. In 2014, alongside João Menezes, he was runner-up in the US Open youth doubles, losing in the final to the pair Omar Jasika and Naoki Nakagawa. At 19, he moved to Itajaí to focus on training, living alone for the first time, but with the constant support of his family.
Rise in doubles
Rafael debuted in an ATP tournament main draw in 2019, at the Brasil Open, partnering with Igor Marcondes. At the 2020 Rio Open, together with Orlando Luz, he defeated the number 1 pair in the world at the time, Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah, Wimbledon and US Open champions.
In 2021, he won his first ATP title in Córdoba, alongside Felipe Meligeni Alves. From 2022 onwards, he began a fruitful partnership with Spaniard David Vega Hernández, winning ATP 250 tournaments in Santiago, Marrakesh, Mallorca and Bastad, in addition to reaching the quarter-finals of Roland Garros and the top 50 in the world doubles.
Grand Slam and recent achievements
The peak of Rafael’s career came in 2023, when, alongside Luisa Stefani, he won the Australian Open mixed doubles title, becoming the first 100% Brazilian pair to win a Grand Slam in this category. With this feat, he joined the hall of great names in national tennis, such as Maria Esther Bueno, Thomaz Koch and Bruno Soares. In the same year, he reached his best position in the ATP doubles rankings: 26th place.
In 2024, Matos formed a partnership with Nicolás Barrientos, winning the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and the ATP 250 in Stuttgart, in addition to winning titles with Marcelo Melo and Orlando Luz. In 2025, Rafael won his tenth ATP doubles title, again at the Rio Open, becoming two-time champion of the tournament, and reached the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and Wimbledon, his best campaign in the English tournament so far.
General statistics
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Simple: best ranking N° 440 (2018), without titles.
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Doubles: 123 wins and 95 losses, 10 titles, best ranking N° 26 (February 2023), current ranking N° 41 (July 2025).
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Mixed doubles Grand Slam: Australian Open 2023 (champion), Roland Garros 2023 (QF), Wimbledon 2022-2024 (1st round), US Open 2022-2024 (1st round).
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Doubles Grand Slam: Australian Open 2nd round (2024), Roland Garros QF (2022), Wimbledon QF (2025), US Open 2nd round (2023 and 2024).
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Prize money accumulated: US$ 1.202.805.
João Fonseca/Rafael Matos x Nicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert: how to watch
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When will João Fonseca’s singles match take place? Basel ATP?
In the singles tournament, João Fonseca will face Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, current champion of the tournament. The game will be this Tuesday (10/21), but the time has not yet been announced.
João Fonseca, 19 years old, currently occupies 45th position in the ATP rankings, while Perricard, 22 years old, is 37th. This will be the first time the two face each other.
The Frenchman, at 2.03 m, is experiencing the best phase of his career, which began in 2021, and reached the peak of his ranking in February this year, occupying 29th place. In 2024, Perricard won his first ATP 500 in Basel and, in 2025, recorded the fastest serve in Wimbledon history: 246 km/h.
João is coming off a defeat in the debut of the ATP 250 in Brussels to the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, in straight sets. Despite having led one of the sets, the Brazilian suffered from inconsistency on his serve and ended up eliminated.
If he overcomes Perricard, Fonseca could face the Czech Jakub Menser, 19th in the ranking, against whom he already played in last year’s Next Gen, a tournament won by the Brazilian in 2024. The other possibility of a clash in the second round is with the Swiss Henry Bernet, current Australian Open youth champion.
MORE: Can João Fonseca face Novak Djokovic? Understand the possibility of the clash at the ATP 250 in Athens
