Joao Fonseca is enjoying a meteoric rise in tennis and everyone wants to know who he is after his Australian Open victory over Andrey Rublev.
The 18-year-old Brazilian star, currently ranked world No.112, conjured up a shock 7-6 6-3 7-6 first-round win over the Russian ninth-seed on Tuesday.
It is just the latest career highlight for the teenage sensation, who started 2024 ranked outside of the top 700 but keeps climbing higher and higher.
Here’s everything you need to know about Fonseca ahead of his second-round match against Lorenzo Sonego at the Australian Open on Thursday…
Who is Joao Fonseca?
Fonseca, born in 2006, started playing tennis when he was just four-years-old at the Rio de Janeiro Country Club, next to where he lived as a child.
His breakthrough came in 2023 when he reached the final of the Australian Open boys’ doubles tournament alongside his partner Alexander Blockx.
After clinching the 2023 US Open boys’ singles title – and becoming world No.1 in the junior rankings – Fonseca made his ATP debut at the Rio Open.
That gave Fonseca the confidence he needed to really kick on in 2024, becoming the youngest ATP Challenger champion of the season, as he surged from No.727 to No.145 to earn a spot in the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Fonseca was the lowest ranked player at the Next Gen ATP Finals but incredibly won the prestigious event, became only the third-ever 18-year-old to do so after current superstars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Fonseca then started 2025 in fine form, lifting his second ATP Challenger title at his first tournament of the season at the Canberra Tennis International.
His next career highlight came at this year’s ongoing Australian Open, making his Grand Slam debut against Rublev after he won three qualifying matches.
But Fonseca was not done there as he ironically become the first teenager since Rublev to beat a top 10 player in the first round of a major tournament, remarkably beating the Russian world No.9 in straight sets.
Joao Fonseca’s idol is Roger Federer
Fonseca’s biggest idol in tennis is Roger Federer, quoting the Swiss icon after his brilliant Australian Open win over Rublev.
‘Like Roger says, ‘Talent is not enough without hard work’ – I put a lot of work in,’ Fonseca said in his on-court interview after the match. ‘That’s it.’
In his post-match press conference, Fonseca revealed he used to try to emulate Federer’s distinct playing style.
‘When I was younger, the one-handed backhand,’ Fonseca added. ‘I tried it for, like, one week, and then I have something in my elbow, and then I forgot.’
Why Joao Fonseca met with Rafael Nadal
Fonseca met Rafael Nadal in December 2024 at the Next Gen ATP Finals to recreate an old photo.
Fonseca, when he was four-years-old, had his picture taken with Nadal during the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa next to his mother.
The trio took a new snap in Jeddah last year, with Fonseca clearly a big fan of the Spanish tennis legend.
What Novak Djokovic said about Joao Fonseca
Novak Djokovic is a huge fan of Fonseca and recently lauded the teenager at the Australian Open.
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‘I met him personally [at Melbourne Park] and didn’t hesitate to congratulate him for [the win over Rublev] and for the results he has been achieving for a while,’ Djokovic said.
‘I have closely followed his rise and I love how he plays, especially, the crucial points. I see some of myself in his game, in that audacity with which he faces challenging situations.
‘He definitely has everything it takes to be a protagonist of a very promising future.’
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