He's Supposed to be a College Freshman. Instead, He's Lighting Up the French Open.

Wall Street Journal

a day ago

Paris
The sun-baked court at the far end of Roland-Garros was so loud that Joao Fonseca couldn't hear himself speak. Everywhere he turned, he was met by the noise of fans in the canary-yellow jerseys of Brazil's national soccer team. They were all chanting his name.
This, Fonseca realized, was how it feels to be one of the most exciting teenagers in tennis.
'Sometimes I feel goosebumps,' the 18-year-old said after punching his ticket to the third round of the French Open. 'It's a vibe that I can't explain.'
Fonseca isn't the only one at a loss for words. His formidable talent had been talked about for years in junior circles, but his emergence on tour wasn't expected to happen for at least another season or two. Under his original plan, Fonseca was supposed to have spent this past year as a freshman at the University of Virginia.
Instead, Fonseca turned pro before he ever enrolled in school.
'How old is he? Is he still in diapers?' seven-time major winner Venus Williams joked on the TNT broadcast. 'I wish I was hitting like that at that age.'
That purity every time he strikes a ball had already secured him an endorsement deal at age 16 with On, the brand part-owned by Roger Federer. Then in 2023, Fonseca won the U.S. Open boys' title and finished the year as the world's No. 1-ranked junior.
'Joao could have gone to whatever school he wanted,' UVA's director of tennis Andres Pedroso wrote in an email.
Only the real question wasn't where he would end up, but how long he might stay. Pedroso understood when he recruited Fonseca that there was a real chance he would never suit up for the Cavaliers. Still, he figured it was a risk worth taking.
'His parents and his coach were very up front from the beginning that at any point he could turn pro,' Pedroso wrote. 'Ultimately it would be Joao's decision.'
Fonseca tested the professional waters by playing an ATP 500 tournament in Rio in February 2023. Though he was bageled in his very first set and lost his only match in little over an hour, he felt that the pro circuit was the place for him. Fonseca's mind was made up.
'It was an incredibly tough decision for me and my family as I have been dreaming about living a college life in Charlottesville,' Fonseca wrote at the time. 'But, in the last few months, professional tennis called me in a way that I simply couldn't say 'no.''
Every day since has served as a reminder that he made the right call.
At this season's Australian Open, Fonseca stunned world No. 9 Andrey Rublev, becoming the youngest man ever to take down a top-10 player in the 52-year history of the ATP rankings. Along the way, he also happened to crack the hardest forehand of the entire tournament at 112 mph. Fonseca followed it up in February by claiming his first tour-level title in Buenos Aires.
'He has the fire in the racket but he has the fire also in his personality,' veteran coach and analyst Patrick Mouratoglou said at the time.
Fonseca's matches around Roland-Garros are easy to find—they're the ones you can hear even before you approach the stands. Through the first two rounds, Brazilian fans packed Court No. 7, then Court No. 14, with many more stuck in the long lines at the entrance.
It's been a while since they had anyone to be this excited about. Brazil has only ever produced one men's Grand Slam winner and he left fans with a few indelible memories of Paris. Gustavo Kuerten, the curly-haired clay-court specialist, won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001.
'He's a legend for us Brazilians,' Fonseca said.
Like his hero, Fonseca grew up with an appreciation for the clay. That comfort was obvious on Thursday as he slid around in a slugfest against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The turning point was a second-set tiebreak that saw Fonseca crank up his level and eventually take the match in straight sets.
'Something happens when he really goes for it on his forehand,' Herbert said. 'There were two in the second set that really went through the air fast and traumatized me in the tiebreak.'
The Brazilian fans responded by turning the stands into their little corner of Rio. And on Saturday, they'll be back to watch Fonseca face No. 5 Jack Draper of Great Britain in one of the matches of the third round.
'The expectations are going to come. People are going to talk,' Fonseca says. 'It's normal. You need to deal with it.'
Write to Joshua Robinson at [e-mail]