Joao Fonseca just made a decision that’s got tennis fans scratching their heads.
The 19-year-old Brazilian is skipping this week’s Shanghai Masters – one of the biggest tournaments on the tennis calendar. That’s pretty surprising for a rising star who’s trying to climb the rankings.
Fonseca’s the kind of player who gets people excited about tennis again. He’s got one of the most explosive forehands you’ll ever see, and experts think he could win multiple Grand Slams down the road.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|
From unknown to champion in record time
Just a few months ago, Fonseca won his first ATP title at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. He was playing on clay courts, and the way he dominated that tournament had tennis fans taking notice.
It wasn’t just his powerful shots that impressed people. The kid’s got serious game across the board.
But here’s the thing – he’s still figuring things out at the professional level. Since that breakthrough win in Argentina, his results have been up and down. That’s totally normal for someone so young on the ATP Tour.
He needs more matches under his belt and consistent training time.
Most recently, Fonseca represented Brazil in the Davis Cup and then played for Team World at the Laver Cup. Team World won 15-9 and took back the trophy from Europe.
Why skip Shanghai?
Almost every top player is heading to Shanghai this week. Even Novak Djokovic is playing, and he’s been super selective about his schedule lately.
The Shanghai Masters is a Masters 1000 event, which means there are massive ranking points up for grabs. For a young player trying to break into the top ranks, you’d think it’d be a no-brainer to play.
So why isn’t Fonseca there?
His team says there’s no injury involved. They made a strategic choice to skip Shanghai so he could spend more time preparing for the European indoor tournaments coming up.
Fonseca’s scheduled to play the European Open in Brussels starting October 13th, followed by the Vienna Open the next week. Both tournaments are played on indoor hard courts.
This decision is all about the long game. Fonseca didn’t grow up playing on indoor hard courts like some European players did. His team wants him to get more comfortable in those conditions, especially after competing at the Laver Cup indoors.
There’s also the physical side to consider. Fonseca’s body is still developing, and we’ve seen too many young players get hurt because they played too much too soon.
Smart scheduling could be the difference between a good career and a great one.
Shanghai still stacked with talent
Don’t worry – the Shanghai Masters is still going to be incredible even without Fonseca.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will both be there, and these two have basically owned men’s tennis lately. They’ve split the last eight Grand Slam titles between them since the start of 2024.
Then there’s Djokovic, who’s still the biggest name in tennis even though his last Grand Slam win was the 2023 US Open.
Djokovic has lost to either Sinner or Alcaraz at the last three major tournaments. After the US Open, he said he thinks he might have a better shot against them in best-of-three-set matches instead of best-of-five.
Shanghai could be the perfect place for him to test that theory.
The tournament starts Wednesday, and with this kind of star power, it’s going to be must-watch tennis – even without the Brazilian teenager with the monster forehand.
