Tennis player João Fonseca has once again postponed his debut in the 2026 season due to pain in his lower back. The 19-year-old from Rio announced that he will not compete in the ATP 250 in Adelaide, Australia, which starts this Saturday (10). The tournament would be his last test before the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.
Previously, Fonseca also chose not to participate in the ATP 250 in Brisbane and was left out of the squad for the Davis Cup clash against Canada.
The decision was made after medical evaluation and consultation with his technical team. Fonseca faces a problem with his lower back that has limited his participation in competitions. “In the last few days, we have focused on the treatment and recovery of the lower back. After training here in Adelaide, I carried out an assessment with my team and we decided to focus our efforts on the Australian Open”, explained the tennis player.
The Brazilian will remain in Adelaide to continue his physical preparation, but without officially competing. In a statement on social media, the athlete reinforced: “Unfortunately, I had to withdraw from the Adelaide tournament. I’m feeling back pain and trying to recover as quickly as possible to be 100% on the court again,” he said, thanking the fans for their support.
Fonseca has been facing back problems since last year. It was because of low back pain that he brought the end of last season forward, withdrawing from the ATP 250 in Athens, which took place at the beginning of November.
The sequence of absences had an impact on the world rankings. Fonseca ended 2025 as 24th place, but fell to 29th place in the first ATP update in 2026. Without taking the court for the second consecutive week, the Rio native could lose new positions in the next updates.
Still, he has enough points to remain top seed at the Australian Open. In theory, being seeded increases the probability of facing weaker opponents in the first rounds of the Grand Slam.
