ATP Tour

'Fascinating' Fonseca winning fan hearts and minds in Halle

The Joao Fonseca effect has arrived in the quiet town of Halle-Westfalen with the 2025 Terra Wortmann Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian triumphed at the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF and has since delivered statement performances at tournaments from the Australian Open to Buenos Aires and Miami. Off the court, he has quickly become a star attraction for fans and that is no different this week in Halle, where Fonseca will on Tuesday chase his first tour-level grass win against Flavio Cobolli at the German ATP 500.

On Sunday, a line of fans eager to meet Fonseca snaked across the grounds at OWL Arena, where the Brazilian signed autographs and posed for photos. The sudden impact Fonseca has had on tennis was demonstrated by the excitement of fans in Halle, a town of 20,000 in Germany’s north west, for an 18-year-old World No. 57 from Rio de Janeiro.

Fonseca and the fans, too cute 🥰@ATPHalle #ATPHalle pic.twitter.com/44OiITg9Kr

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 15, 2025

Karsten Ebersberg, Alexandra Ebersberg and Lukas Ebersberg were among those delighted to see one of tennis’ brightest young talents at their local ATP Tour event.

“He is still very young, so therefore I have not seen lots of matches with him, but he is already Top 60, Top 50,” Karsten told ATPTour.com. “Therefore, we find it very exciting that he is playing here in Halle.”

“He is a big talent,” added Alexandra of Fonseca, who lines up with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, home favourite Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev in the Halle draw. “I find a mix good between new players and more well-known players.”

Max Schulte, Mika Birkhaken, Mika Kläsener and Maguette Faye, a group of friends visiting the Halle event from nearby Rheda-Wiedenbruck, also lined up to get an autograph from Fonseca. The group, who know each other from the Cor Tennis Club Rheda in their hometown, were curious to see how Fonseca fares on grass.

“I’ve only seen him on clay,” said Faye of Fonseca, who played his only previous tour-level match on the surface in Halle a year ago. “I’m already impressed by him (on clay) and excited to see how it will go for him on grass this week. A young talent is always good.”

For many fans, the feeling that they may be catching an early glimpse of a future star is a big draw, and Fonseca has given them plenty of reasons to watch his matches. The Brazilian plays an exciting brand of big-hitting tennis and displays plenty of on-court charisma.

“Like in every sport, we love it when the new talent comes, an underdog,” said Schulte. “The youngsters, also like Justin Engel, who has played here in qualifying. The young players doing well is always exciting. The new players having a chance is the most important.”

_{^{Max Schulte, Mika Kläsener, Mika Birkhaken and Maguette Faye with autographs from Joao Fonseca. Photo Credit: Andy West/ATP Tour}}

Fonseca may be a relatively new presence on the Tour, but the characteristics that make him popular are familiar to some fans. They include 19-year-old Henri Schmitz from Paderborn, who compared the Brazilian to an ATP Tour icon.

“He reminds me a bit of Nadal when he plays,” said Schmitz. “I’ve already watched a few matches of his on television, and he is already fascinating. I like his character, either in interviews or on the court where he is aggressive and already astonishing.”