ATP Tour

Fonseca on how ‘a much more mature Joao' is aiming for more AO exploits

Joao Fonseca’s performances at the 2025 Australian Open represented something of a ‘gamechanger’ in the Brazilian’s young career.

After coming through qualifying to earn his spot in the main draw at a major for the first time, Fonseca stunned then-World No. 8 Andrey Rublev in straight sets at Melbourne Park. Even if the teenager had already triumphed at the previous year’s Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, the display against Rublev was one that made the tennis world sit up and take notice.

“It was where everything started,” the 19-year-old Fonseca told ATPTour.com last week ahead of his return, one year on, to the Australian Open. “My confidence and everything [went up]. I’m looking forward to the AO this year. I think I play well on those courts and I like playing there.

“I think the heat is similar conditions to where I live in Brazil. So I’m looking forward to it as a much more mature Joao, with much more experience.”

Fonseca’s Melbourne exploits were the catalyst for a huge surge of interest in the Brazilian, from fans and media alike. As a young player with big ambitions for his future, does he ever get tired of being asked questions about a tournament that is now 12 months in the past?

“I don’t mind [talking about it],” said Fonseca with a smile. “I’m very chilled, so I don’t mind people talking about last year, which was a great result and I was playing good.”

A host of Fonseca’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivals have spoken of their admiration for his talent since that Melbourne defeat of Rublev. On Friday, former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Roger Federer added his own thoughts on why the Brazilian is such an exciting presence on Tour.

“I think what separates him from a lot of the other guys in the draw are his power, forehand, backhand, serve, what he's able to bring point for point,” Federer told media at the Australian Open. “He's exciting. He has a good aura. I feel like he's a very likeable character as well. I like watching him play. I briefly met him at the Laver Cup. I saw him also courtside and also from the back. It was impressive to see.”

Fonseca’s footprint on the 2025 Grand Slam season was far from done with his run to the second round in Melbourne. He defeated Hubert Hurkacz en route to the third round at Roland Garros, reached the same stage at Wimbledon, and then downed Miomir Kecmanovic at the US Open to win at least one match on main-draw debut at all four of the majors.

“For sure [the Australian Open] helped,” said Fonseca. “It gave me confidence for the whole year. I say that everything started [in Melbourne], because I got experience of playing five sets for the first time and of playing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. So it gave me confidence to be ready for the next tournaments.”

Fonseca finished 2025 with a 26-16 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, a tally that included his first two tour-level title runs in Buenos Aires and Basel. After some time off, he spent the offseason working on his game with coaches Guilherme Teixeira and Franco Davin in Rio de Janiero and Miami. Now having experienced the rigours of a full calendar year on the ATP Tour, Fonseca acknowledged it felt like a preseason with a twist.

“It was different. I think I’m much more mature and more experienced,” he said. “We focused a lot on nutrition and recovering day by day. Every week there was a specific thing, so it was a very complete preseason.

“We focused a lot on volleys, serving, returning… mostly everything. Focusing more on serve and return, and volleys, approaching to the net, which is [a big part of modern] tennis nowadays. People are improving those things a lot, so we worked a lot on that.”

The 103-time tour-level champion Federer says he recognises elements of his own journey in Fonseca’s progress so far.

“I just think he's more a little bit like me in the sense he needs a little bit more time to work on his game.” said the Swiss. “Similar to Jannik [Sinner], as well, to know when to dial back and when to unload his shots. Once he figures that out, obviously the sky's the limit. I think he's truly one of the guys that can compete for the biggest wins.”

Fonseca will compete in Melbourne this year as the 28th seed. His first-round clash with Eliot Spizzirri will be his opening match of the season, after he was forced to withdraw from both Brisbane and Adelaide due to a lower back injury. Despite that disappointing start to the year, the No. 32 in the PIF ATP Rankings remains focused on his goals for 2026.

“I think there are of course some goals for my team, but in general it is to keep evolving and keep making progress,” he said. “Across the whole year, to make more consistent results, and to keep getting experience, not only from the tournaments but from other players. Getting to see what some players do good and what some players do wrong and trying to figure out my path and where I want to sit. I think that’s one of the goals for this year.”