(VIDEO) Tearful Joao Fonseca celebrates historic doubles win at home - “I will win the singles trophy one day”

Joao Fonseca had a bittersweet week at his home tournament, the ATP 500 Rio Open, after winning his first doubles title alongside his compatriot Marcelo Melo. The Brazilian becomes the first teenager to win a doubles tournament above ATP 250 level since Roger Federer in 2001.

The final faced the wildcards Melo and Fonseca against the pair of Haase and Frantzen, two doubles specialists who had previously eliminated the first seeds (Reboul/Doumbia) and third seeds (Andreozzi/Guinard). The final began in favor of the Europeans in the first set, but the South Americans responded in time and took the glory with a 4-6, 6-3, [10-8] victory.

It was great news for Fonseca, who ended with a bitter note in singles. The 19-year-old was the third seed in the tournament and debuted by defeating his compatriot Thiago Monteiro in straight sets. The passionate Brazilian crowd filled the Guga Kuerten Court for the second round against Ignacio Buse, but the young Peruvian claimed the victory.

It was an early and especially painful elimination for the 19-year-old, who despite his early career successes, had still struggled at the Rio Open. He has four participations in Rio so far, with the best being in 2024 when he reached the quarterfinals—defeating seventh seed Arthur Fils and former champion Cristian Garin—before finishing in three sets against Mariano Navone.

On that occasion, Fonseca was only 17 years old and still an unknown name for the local fans. Even though the Brazilian did not fully establish himself on the tour until a year later, it was one of the first big signs he was sending to the ATP Tour.

Although Fonseca normally does not compete in doubles tournaments, on this occasion he chose to join his compatriot Marcelo Melo for the delight of the local audience. It was his first appearance in doubles since the 2025 Swiss Indoors with Rafael Matos—a tournament where he fell in the first round in doubles while winning the singles title.

Although they arrived without high expectations, their campaign grew as the days went by. The quarterfinals were especially challenging against the Argentinians Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez, with the main stadium packed. They claimed a commanding victory, 6-4, 6-0, dashing the local hopes, who had seen Melo and Fonseca as their only chance for a home title—there were no more Brazilian singles players in the draw since Thursday.

The path became especially complicated for the Brazilians in the semifinals against the Germans Schnaitter and Wallner, who rallied from a 2-5 deficit and saved a match point at 8-9 in the match tiebreak. Fonseca and Melo ultimately won 6-2, 2-6, [13-11].

Fonseca becomes the first teenager to win a doubles title in a category higher than ATP 250 since 2001, when none other than Roger Federer was crowned champion alongside Jonas Björkman at the Rotterdam Open. This time, Fonseca repeats the achievement, becoming, together with Melo, the first 100% Brazilian pair to take the title. A year earlier, Rafael Matos had become the first local player to win the doubles title—in that case, playing alongside Colombian Nicolás Barrientos.

The moment of triumph was overwhelming for Fonseca, who was visibly emotional and cried during the trophy ceremony. The young Brazilian, celebrated by the packed home crowd at the Guga Kuerten Court, could not hold back the emotion of achieving a historic milestone in front of local fans.