Joao Fonseca is aiming high, as high as to follow in the footsteps of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner: “I look at their rivalry and that’s where I want to go. I want to be like them, I want to win Grand Slams”
The 18-year-old’s name began to resonate loudly when he won his first match at ATP level at the beginning of 2024. At the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro he reached the quarter-finals, shortly before announcing that he would turn down offers from US universities to go pro.
He also told powerful agencies such as IMG y Team8 to wait, that he is not yet ready to have representatives, or agents manage his career.
“We talked to my family about the idea of having an agent, but for now we’re fine. I’m not signing with an agency yet, my agents are my parents. These are important decisions that we will think about very well. For now we are waiting to find the right path and get it right,” the Brazilian told CLAY in this interview.
And an important detail. Before posing for the photo in this interview, he asks for a second to pose in it wearing his watch. “My new sponsor,” he clarifies. Fonseca signed a contract with Rolex, a sign of his tremendous potential.
Interview with Joao Fonseca
– How did you handle the fame that hit you in February? You were the first tennis player born in 2006 to win an ATP match, and a lot of attention was focused on you.
– Yes, it’s something I’ve been working on a lot since then. There are a lot of expectations on me, but I just try to stay focused as much as possible on my routine, together with people who bring me positive things and who will be by my side. It’s difficult, but I’m focused on tennis. Not on sponsorships, not on money. Others take care of other things. Along with tennis, the results and the money will come. I’ve talked it over with my parents and my coach. I never thought much about fame. I’ve always been very dedicated, I want to play tennis, I want to be a champion.
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– You are already being stopped by fans in the street in Brazil? Do you like this contact with people, or would you prefer to go unnoticed?
– I’m just not used to it, but more and more people will approach me. I have to get used to it.
– What goes through your head when you’re singled out as the big project in Latin America? Even as the great global tennis project of your generation.
– There is a lot of pressure regarding the expectations I am building up. I’m a guy they’re talking about a lot, they’re watching me in tournaments… the pressure I like is the pressure that can be on my opponents. They know I’m a new guy, younger than the rest and playing well. I like the match to have that kind of pressure. I’m 18 years old and I understand that I’m in training, that I’m a project. I’m in my first months on the professional tour and I’ve learned a lot. I think a lot about the future.
– Agencies like IMG and Team8 are battling to manage your career, how do you feel that this kind of thing is happening around you?
– We’ve thought a lot with my family about it, we’ve talked about the idea of having an agent, but for now we’re fine. For now I won’t have an agent, I won’t sign with an agency yet. My agents are my parents. For now we are living the present calmly, thinking very well, because it’s a career-long thing. These are important decisions and for now we are waiting to find the right path and get it right.
– Roger Federer owns Team8. His clothing sponsor is already the Swiss brand On, of which he is a percentage owner. Signing for Team8 would bring you closer to him?
– Yeah, yeah, crazy, but we’re waiting for now.
– So, did you get to meet Federer?
– I haven’t met him yet. Obviously we’re connected by On, but I haven’t met him personally yet. He did send me a video after I won the US Open junior in 2023. He also already spoke to my dad.
– You have had Federer since your earliest tennis memories and have always followed him. What would you like to learn from him?
– Federer has been my idol since I was a child. I always enjoyed watching his matches, his classic, easy, elegant style. He is a reference. I would like to know his stories, to know what happens in difficult moments. What he felt about tennis when he was my age. He’s very talented, but a lot of people say he wasn’t very dedicated in his youth. I would like to hear that from him, because he could contribute and teach me a lot of things. If I had a conversation with him, I would try to get the most out of it.
– And if you could steal him a shot to incorporate into your game, what would you choose?
– The serve.
– Where do you see yourself in December 2025?
– I see myself playing major tournaments, playing in the Grand Slams. It’s not a goal or even less an obligation in my head, no. It’s just what I want. Everything has its time, but it’s where I want to get to and where I think I have the potential to get to.
– Do you talk to Carlos Alcaraz? You have shared training sessions.
– We have a good relationship, we always talk when we meet. He and his team are very calm, he is doing things well. He is an idol for the whole next generation.
– When Alcaraz visited Rio de Janeiro in February, didn’t you invite him to dinner?
– Ah, no, I don’t have that intimacy yet. But, well, I hope that in the next few years when we get to know better and become friends we can share a good dinner with our teams.
– What happens to you when you see the rivalry that Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are building, and what do you think when you tune in to their games?
– I see them in their rivalry and that’s where I want to go. Sometimes I think, ‘I’m going to aim for top 100, top 50’. No. I’m going to look at them. I want to be like them. I want to win Grand Slams and other big tournaments. Alcaraz and Sinner serve as inspiration and motivation to keep working harder and harder.
– Do you dream of being like that third element of a ‘Big 3 of the future’?
– It’s hard to talk about that, but that’s where I want to go. It’s not something I think about, it’s just going to be a consequence of my work.
– And how did your encounter with Guga Kuerten go this year?
– I met him in the Davis Cup, when we played against China in Florianópolis. I was the sparring of the Brazilian team. He is an idol for Brazil, not only in tennis, not only in sport. He is very charismatic, and he has a lot of positive things to give us. He won three Grand Slams, knew the whole tour very well, and won his first Roland Garros without being a favourite. He taught me a lot of good lessons.
– And did you ask him what went through his mind when he won Roland Garros?
– No, I didn’t ask him, but next time I’ll try to.
If you enjoyed this interview with Joao Fonseca, don’t miss in this link to our site, many other interviews with the great tennis stars.
