Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old tennis sensation from Brazil, has been making waves in the tennis world, drawing comparisons to other tennis greats. The young prodigy captured the ATP Next Gen Finals in Jeddah towards the end of last year, solidifying his status as a future star. His rise to prominence was further cemented when he clinched the ATP 250 Argentina Open title, becoming one of the youngest players to win an ATP Tour-level title.
Esteemed German tennis veteran, Andrea Petkovic, drew intriguing parallels between Fonseca’s meteoric rise and the unexpected triumphs of players like Emma Raducanu and Boris Becker. Both Raducanu and Becker were relatively unknown before their major wins; Raducanu won the 2021 US Open title and Becker clinched the 1985 Wimbledon Championships title at the tender age of 17. Speaking on The Inside-In Podcast, Petkovic likened Fonseca’s journey to that of Raducanu and Becker, noting the element of surprise in their victories.
Petkovic stated, “The only two people that I know personally that have experienced something similar are Emma Raducanu and Boris Becker. While Joao Fonseca was expected to do special things, Emma Raducanu’s victory came as a complete surprise. Boris Becker’s Wimbledon win as a teenager was equally unexpected.”
Fonseca, for his part, looks up to Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis maestro, and has admitted to trying to emulate Federer’s playing style as a child. He has since learned that talent alone isn’t enough and has cited hard work as a key ingredient to his success. In his own words, “Like Roger says… talent isn’t enough. So I put in a lot of hard work. My team and I understand this.”
However, Fonseca’s victory at the Argentina Open sparked controversy when social media highlighted him as the youngest ATP champion since 2000, effectively overshadowing Becker’s achievement at an even younger age. This prompted Becker to express his displeasure, rhetorically asking, “So before the year 2000 we didn’t play tennis?” Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova joined Becker in criticizing the oversight, with Navratilova playfully answering Becker’s question with, “Apparently not.”
Despite the controversy, the focus remains on Fonseca’s career trajectory. His Argentina Open triumph was followed by an early exit at the Rio Open, but the young star is determined to bounce back at the upcoming Sunshine Double. His journey, drawing parallels with tennis greats and causing controversy, continues to captivate the tennis world.