SUMMARY
- Joao Fonseca faces a challenging situation after his historic performance at the Rio Open.
- Joao Fonseca will only be able to take a part of the prize money earned at the Rio Open.
Joao Fonseca has been one of the youngest players to announce their arrival on tour this season. He has been creating shockwaves around the tennis fraternity in the past few weeks. Fonseca has just begun his journey in the sport but has already faced a challenge. His performance at Rio seemed to have affected his career.
Roger Federer has backed up Fonseca, as the teenager is part of the sporting company “On.” Fonseca found himself in trouble after earning $57,540 at the Rio Open. He is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The NCAA only permits players to earn a prize of $10,000. Fonseca must forego $47,540 to remain a part of the NCAA.
The 17-year-old can keep the entire prize money but must give up his NCAA membership. Fonseca will now have to make a major decision: either continue in the NCAA or turn professional. Five months ago, Fiona Crawley had to go through the same situation after reaching the third round at the US Open. Fonseca will have to take a decision soon this year.
Joao Fonseca’s career highlights and prize money
In 2021, Fonseca played his first professional match in the qualifying rounds of a challenger event in Rio de Janeiro. He lost the match against Jose Pereira without winning a single game. In the next season, the Brazilian player reached the quarterfinals in two ITF events held in Brazil. Fonseca got his first ATP point and was ranked No. 841 at the end of 2022.
In the 2023 season, Fonseca made his debut appearance on the ATP tour with a wildcard entry at the Rio Open. He was ousted in the opening round against Alex Molcan. Fonseca performed well on the ITF tour, with two semifinal finishes in Germany and Brazil. He shone brightly on the junior tour and reached the quarterfinals at the first three grand slams of the 2023 season.
🎾🇧🇷 João Fonseca (17) campeón del US Open Junior 2023, tras remontar ante Learner Tien, celebralo Brasil !!! #USOpen #joaofonseca #USOpen2023 pic.twitter.com/GKCjuJJZy9
— pasametudato (@pasametudato) September 10, 2023
Fonseca reached the top of the rankings after winning the US Open juniors title in 2023. He currently holds the rank of No. 342 and has earned $98,059 in prize money. Fonseca is currently the youngest player in the top 500 ATP rankings. He has a long way to go on the tour and hopes to debut in the grad slams this season.