Wherever 18-year-old João Fonseca goes, he hears his name chanted as if he were akin to his countrymen, the Brazilian soccer stars Ronaldo, Pelé and Neymar. Mirra Andreeva, also 18, gets interview requests while she waits in line at a pharmacy in New York City.
Teenage tennis prodigies used to be as common as gut tennis strings. Chris Evert was 16 when she reached her first U.S. Open semifinal in 1971. Steffi Graf was 17 when she captured the first of her six French championships. Monica Seles, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova were all under 20 when they catapulted to fame.
Bjorn Borg was 18 when he won the first of his six French Open titles in 1974. Boris Becker was 17 when he grabbed his first Wimbledon. Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras, Michael Chang and Rafael Nadal were all teenagers when they won their first majors.
Over the years, as the sport became more physical and endurance minded, necessitating more mature bodies, the tide changed. Equipment, fitness and nutritional advances have also allowed players to continue competing into their mid-30s. Forty-year-old Stan Wawrinka, for example, a three-time major winner, is playing in his 20th French Open, which begins on Sunday.
There is only one teenage man, Jakub Mensik, 19, of the Czech Republic, ranked in the ATP’s top 60 and only one teenage woman, the Russian Andreeva, who is ranked a career-high No. 6, in the WTA’s top 60. Fonseca is No. 65.
The game’s current teenagers are coming of age in a potent social media landscape, and that has enhanced their popularity. When Fonseca defeated Learner Tien to win the U.S. Open juniors in 2023, there was a smattering of family members and friends watching on an outside court.
By the time he appeared in Indian Wells and Miami in March, Fonseca’s following was huge. South Americans, many wearing green and yellow soccer jerseys, mobbed the practice courts and screamed so loud during his matches that opponents were left shaking their heads.
“He has the potential to be really a superstar of this game, no doubt about it,” Novak Djokovic said.
Andreeva has been a familiar face for the last few years. Her mental fortitude on the court, along with her quick quips off it, have endeared her to fans worldwide. Her devastating drop shots don’t hurt, either.
Last year, Andreeva reached the semifinals of the French Open by upsetting second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Earlier this year, she captured back-to-back WTA titles in Dubai and Indian Wells, beating Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Sabalenka. She has grown exponentially since teaming with her coach, Conchita Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion, a year ago.
Even Andreeva’s compatriots have taken note.
“It’s incredible what she’s been able to do at such a young age,” said Jessica Pegula, last year’s U.S. Open runner-up. “I think she’s going to win a lot of tournaments and a lot of matches for the next 10 years. She moves really well, but it’s her court sense and her ability to compete. And she’s only going to get better.”
A little more than a year ago, Fonseca was still considering playing college tennis at the University of Virginia, where he planned to major in business. His father, Christiano, runs a hedge fund in Brazil. The family has always stressed education.
“I think every teenager needs to think about going to college,” said Fonseca, who altered his plan when he reached the quarterfinals at the Rio Open in his hometown last year. “At least to visit, to talk to coaches, not simply just say, ‘I’m going directly to the pros.’”
For Fonseca, the transition to the pro tour has appeared seamless. After winning the ATP’s Next Gen Finals last December, he began this season beating Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and captured his first career title in Buenos Aires a month later. This will be his first French Open main draw. He was also named to Team World for this year’s Laver Cup in San Francisco.
Fonseca’s game is well-suited for hard courts and the clay he grew up on. His greatest attribute is his lack of fear.
“I like what I’m seeing from him,” said the third-ranked Alexander Zverev. “He has tremendous power from both sides and quite a good serve. This is the best time because everything seems so easy. You see the tennis ball, the guy across the net, and there’s no thought of anything else.”
Fonseca doesn’t see it that way. “Actually, it is not easy,” he said. “There are a lot of expectations. I’ve had a lot of struggles, and I was losing more matches even though I was playing better. I had to understand that I was young and I needed more maturity.”
Fonseca never had posters of former champions on his bedroom walls. He never pretended, during hours of practice, that he was playing in the final of Roland Garros against Nadal.
“I did have three shirts of Roger Federer,” Fonseca said, “but I was just thinking, ‘Let’s see if I have time to play Roger [before he retires].’ But I missed it.”
Fonseca has a long way to go to equal the feats of the Brazilians Maria Bueno and Gustavo Kuerten. Bueno, a Hall of Famer and world No. 1 in 1959, won seven major singles and 12 major doubles titles.
Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion, has made it a point not to put pressure on Fonseca by bombarding him with advice. Instead, he funnels information through his coach, Guilherme Teixeira.
Fonseca did share a locker room once with Kuerten, during Brazil’s 2023 Davis Cup tie against China in Florianopolis, Brazil, when Fonseca was a practice partner for the team.
“He just talked about maturity, told us to enjoy playing Davis Cup,” Fonseca said. “Playing for our country was very important to him.”
After he won the Buenos Aires title in February, Fonseca said he received messages of congratulations from Neymar and Ronaldo, who both began their pro soccer careers while still in their teens. Fonseca was stunned to be recognized by his idols.
If he has a dream, it is not to win majors and become No. 1, though that would be OK, too.
“If I had one goal,” Fonseca said with a sly smile, “it would just be to make history for Brazil.”
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