"But it's not purely tennis. It's the ability to bring everyone with them" - Mouratoglou picks out Fonseca and Mboko as standout players in 2025

Well respected coach Patrick Mouratoglou has reminisced on the 2025 tennis campaign and picked out two special talents who caught his eye: Victoria Mboko and Joao Fonseca.

The pair came into last season in different positions. Fonseca was hyped up by a lot of people in the tennis community and was under a lot of pressure to succeed despite his tender age. He delivered, winning two titles and rising up to a career-high of 24th in the world. This was trumped by Mboko who enjoyed what was a fantastic breakout year. She won a number of ITF titles before transitioning that success onto the big stage. She defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka to clinch the Canadian Open, an incredible achievement which saw her debut in the top 30. She finished 18th in the world after winning the Hong Kong Open. It was a huge rise from her starting position of 333rd win the world.

Despite being relatively unknown at the start of the year, the 19-year-old was on the tip of many tennis fans tongues after that incredible feat achieved in Montreal. The Frenchman described her arrival 'like a bomb.'

"She's played an incredible season. She was out of top 100. She killed it this year," he stated on Instagram. "She won Masters 1000. She had some downs after that because suddenly the pressure became too high. She arrived like a bomb in the tennis world and the WTA world."

He is very happy to see her progress in the sport and is vastly impressed with all the attributes of her game, on and off the court. "The quality of her game, her physical assets, her personality, I mean, she has a whole package and she's definitely the future of tennis. I'm super happy to see her coming up so fast." Mouratoglou went a step up in his praise. "I can feel that she can do something big for tennis, potentially an icon."

"And I wanna say the same for Joao Fonseca from Brazil," Mouratoglou continued. "This year, he continued to rise. He had also some ups and downs. He also experiences crazy pressure. You can imagine how much the Brazilian fans are behind him, which is positive, but also a lot of responsibility for such a young guy. If you look at his ranking, year after year, it's going like a bomb. He's the future of men's tennis."

Quite the praise from Serena Williams' former coach. Fonseca has been touted by many to compete with the best players in the world, which includes the big two of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. "He's potentially someone who can, in the next years, probably not next year, but in the next years, compete with Alcaraz and Sinner because he has everything for that," he boldly stated.

Mouratoglou was in awe of their tennis ability but turned to the support they both get on and away from the court and how it brings people together. "And I love both Mboko and Fonseca on and off the court. On the court because of the tennis they play, their potential, their physical assets. They have the full package and of course the mental side. When I say off the court, I mean it's on the court, but it's not purely tennis. It's the ability to bring everyone with them.

This support is obvious to see for Fonseca. He is Brazil's shining beacon of hope in tennis, with passionate support following him wherever he goes around the world. "He already has so many fans. That's a joke. Wherever he plays, you have an incredible Brazilian crowd. A lot of guys follow him on tour already. We cannot wait to see them at the highest level, but they're on their way."