When Joao Fonseca burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro last year, reaching the quarterfinals and rocketing from 730th to 145th in the rankings, it felt like we were witnessing the arrival of someone special. The question was whether he could back it up.

This year provided the answer. Fonseca didn’t just maintain his momentum, he accelerated – finishing 2024 as the world number 24. While we’ve seen more dramatic ranking jumps in recent years, what makes Fonseca’s rise remarkable is its substance. He’s proven he’s not a flash in the pan, but a genuine contender for the sport’s upper echelon and, at just 19 still has plenty of time and scope to improve. That will even the very best in the sport looking over their shoulder as the Brazilian continues to

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