"It’s no surprise whatsoever to me that he’s climbed up the rankings" - Former Grand Slam finalist unveils first moments witnessing Joao Fonseca and progression since

It just keeps getting better and better for Joao Fonseca. After recently clinching his second ATP title in the Swiss Indoors, he has been receiving praise from all around the tennis world as his stature continues to grow.

The indoor form he has shown off in recent times have helped him rise into the top 30 for the first time, currently sitting in a hugely impressive 24th in the world, largely down to the prestigious ATP 500 title he won in Basel. He did come unstuck in the second round of the Paris Masters, losing out in three sets to Karen Khachanov. Since then, he has pulled out of the Hellenic Championship in Athens, marking a premature end to his season. With the Next Gen Finals swiftly approaching in December, there is one more job for the Brazilian star to do before he targets to convert his fantastic 2025 into 2026.

Former doubles Grand Slam finalist Luke Saville has kept close tabs on Fonseca for some time, first seeing him play a few years ago. The potential was there, and now the Aussie along with the whole tennis world are starting to see firsthand the potential the 19-year-old has got on his shoulders.

“I think there was a poll going out at the start of the year, on where people think he’ll finish the year," Saville said on The Tennis podcast. "In my eyes, I saw him at Challengers two or three years ago, and he wasn’t quite breaking through there, but you saw the game, you saw the potential. It’s no surprise whatsoever to me that he’s climbed up the rankings and is 30 in the world.”

He went on to compliment his incredible ball-striking, especially his forehand which can produce lightning speeds. “The weight of his ball… I think he got some wild cards into that South American swing a few years back," he said. "He wasn’t winning, but it was quite incredible, the ball striking. I don’t know his record against the top, top players, but I think we forget he’s still 18, 19.”

Leading on from this, Fonseca has already recorded 11 top 30 wins. Quite impressive for someone ranked outside the top 140 at the start of the year. His first one in 2025 proved to be his most impressive: a straight sets victory over Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open. While he had defeated the Arthur Fils in the 2024 Next Gen Finals before this, the victory over Rublev would be his first and only top 10 triumph to date. The world number nine at the time is an extremely dangerous player when on it, but even the Russian could do nothing about Fonseca in his very first Grand Slam main draw tie.

Adding to this, two of his top 30 wins have come in finals. The first came at the start of the year in Argentina. While his popularity in South America, especially Brazil, is skyrocketing, he faced off against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the Argentina Open. The ATP 250 event was Fonseca's first chance at glory on the ATP circuit, and he took full advantage of this rare opportunity. He defeated his opponent in straight sets to clinch the title.

The second and more recent one came in the Swiss Indoors, where the Brazilian proved to be too good for Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who succumbed to a straight set defeat. These big results show the talent Fonseca possesses, with there still improvements to his game needed to compete with the absolute best. The fact he is 19-years-old and doing this is very exciting for the tennis world, with him possiblt being the key to unlocking a new rivalry in the future with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.