Joao Fonseca continues ascent as tennis' next major star

Fonseca is now part of an exclusive list of all-time great players who won titles as teenagers on the ATP Tour. 

Fonseca's rise isn't a big shock to analysts who predicted him to shake up the ATP circuit this season. Last year, he reached two ATP Tour quarterfinals, at Bucharest and Rio de Janeiro, and ended his season with a dominant showing at the ATP Next Gen Finals. He would follow those exploits by upsetting World No. 9 Andrey Rublev in straight sets in his major debut at the Australian Open in January, breaking into the top-100 ATP Rankings for the first time in his career.

At his current trajectory, it wouldn't be far-fetched to predict that Fonseca could break into the top 20 by the end of 2025. The youngster has already set some lofty goals, declaring his ambition to become World No. 1 and win majors. However, Fonseca doesn't plan to skip any steps and wishes to learn from the growing pains he expects to encounter. 

Fonseca — who grew up playing on the clay courts in Brazil — is a dark-horse candidate to win the upcoming ATP500 event in Rio. He has also been earmarked to make serious noise on the ATP clay swing at Monaco, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, the events leading to the 2025 French Open in June.

Tennis great Andy Murray is already excited about the prospect of Fonseca facing reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Alcaraz at one of those events. Alcaraz himself is thrilled about a potential new foe.

Once he breaks into the top 50, Fonseca would no longer have to qualify for majors, as he had to do at the Australian Open earlier this year. As he grows in confidence, his opponents probably grow weary.