Joao Fonseca cracks top-100, youngest since Carlos Alcaraz in 2021

Two weeks after stunning world no. 9 Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open, the Brazilian Joao Fonseca cracked the top-100! At 18 years and five months, Joao is the youngest top-100 player to enter the elite group since Carlos Alcaraz in October 2021. 

Fonseca is the player born in 2006 to book a spot in the top-100. He is also the tenth-youngest active player in that company. Joao joined names like Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, which is not bad company!

A ⭐️ is born.

Brazil have a new Fenômeno and his name is Joao Fonseca!

The 18-year-old qualifier beats No.9 seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(1) 6-3 7-6(5)@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/lBYZunZEcq

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2025

A year ago, the Brazilian was a talented 17-year-old ranked outside the top-650 with a bright future. Only twelve months later, Joao can enter Majors and smaller ATP tournaments directly, which is great progress. Fonseca reached the ATP 500 Rio quarter-final in February last year.

He notched a Masters 1000 win in Madrid before conquering the Lexington Challenger without losing a set in August. The Brazilian entered the top-150 by the end of the season and showed his A-game at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. 

Joao entered the draw as the last and youngest player. That did not stop him from collecting five wins and becoming the third 18-year-old with this title. The previous two? Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz!

The young gun gained a boost ahead of 2025 and kicked off the new season in style. Fonseca lifted a trophy at the Canberra Challenger without losing a set. He shifted that form to Melbourne and qualified for the Australian Open main draw after dropping 12 games in six sets.

Fearing no one, Joao faced world no. 9 Andrey Rublev in the first round….