The future looks bright for the ATP Tour, as a trio of Next Gen ATP stars made their presence known at the 2025 Australian Open.
Despite their lack of experience on the grandest stage, Brazilian Joao Fonseca alongside the American duo of Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien all made headlines at the Happy Slam. The trio, who had just competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals last December, captured the hearts of fans with their inspired performance in Melbourne.
Fonseca defeated Tien in the final of the Next Gen ATP Finals a few weeks ago, and carried his momentum to the Australian Open. The 18-year old scored the biggest win of his career in the first round, upsetting World No.9 Andrey Rublev in straight sets.
Although Fonseca would go on to lose to Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the next round, the Rio native's impressive performance saw him break into the Top 100 on the ATP Rankings table. Fonseca would 13 spots, rising from World No.113 to No.99 after the tournament.
Michelsen and Tien also scored huge upsets, defeating Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas and former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev respectively. Michelsen would reach the fourth round in Melbourne, falling to home hero Alex de Minaur. Nonetheless, the 20-year old would jump 6 spots to World No.36 based off his incredible performance.
Tien, who stunned former Grand Slam champion Medvedev in the second round, would also reach the fourth round before falling to Lorenzo Sonego. The 19-year old would see the biggest rise in his ATP rankings, climbing 41 spots from World No.121 to No.80.