Brazilian teen becomes second-youngest Next Gen Finals champion
©Peter Staples / ATP TourJannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and now Joao Fonseca – those are the only three players to win the Next Gen ATP Finals at the age of 18.
It’s a small club Fonseca is proud to have joined, thanks to his 2-4, 4-3(8), 4-0, 4-2 victory over American Learner Tien in the final of the 20-and-under tournament in Jeddah on Sunday.
“It’s just amazing. Just making some great results like those guys, hopefully in the future I can be like them,” Fonseca said during the trophy ceremony.
The Brazilian teenager won five matches in five days to win the Next Gen ATP Finals title and earn a tournament-record $526,480 prize money as an undefeated champion.
“I’m just very proud of myself. I just want to thank my team, and my parents who are here this week. I just want to thank them. I’m really proud of myself the way that I played this week, beating some really good players,” added the Rio native.
Two days before the final, Fonseca got a chance to meet Spanish legend Rafael Nadal, who was in Jeddah as part of his role as Saudi Tennis Federation ambassador.
Fonseca, along with fellow Next Gen players Jakub Mensik and Alex Michelsen, quizzed Nadal on his career, and spoke to the 22-time Grand Slam champion about how he developed his famous never-say-die attitude.
“For me it’s about a personal feeling that if I don’t give my best, if I don’t try my best, I come back home I am not calm with myself. at the end, it’s the fear to not be satisfied with myself, with my attitude,” Nadal told them.
Not long after, Fonseca stepped on court for his last match in the round-robin stage against Mensik. The clash was essentially a dead rubber, since Fonseca had already guaranteed himself a place in the semi-finals and Mensik was already eliminated from the competition.
Still, the duo battled for five sets, which all went to tiebreaks, until Fonseca eventually came out on top after two hours and 11 minutes of play.
When he was asked why he fought so hard in a match that had no bearing on his advancement to the semi-finals, Fonseca’s answer was a simple one.
“I think in any sport you need to think of today, not of tomorrow. Of course before the match I was already qualified for the semis and I could maybe not give my 100 percent, play five sets, all tiebreaks. But I did my best, that’s tennis, that’s sport, you need to give your best every day. I met Rafa today, so I’m a bit inspired by him,” he explained.
The final against Tien was a rematch of the 2023 US Open boys’ singles final, which Fonseca won from a set down.
Nadal was in the stands at King Abdullah Sports City watching on, which understandably provided some extra motivation for Fonseca, who rallied after dropping the opening set to become the second-youngest champion in Next Gen ATP Finals history.
“I want to thank Rafa for being here, he’s such a legend of this sport, so it’s very meaningful for us young players to be in those stadiums with those guys watching,” said the eighth-seeded Fonseca.
For Tien, Jeddah was the first tournament he contested at the professional level outside of the United States and the Californian was pleased with his performances.
The 19-year-old spent three months on the sidelines with a fractured rib earlier in the year but rebounded in stunning fashion, winning 28 consecutive matches and qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals with three Challenger titles under his belt in 2024.
“It was a really good experience just coming here, getting to see something different outside the US,” said Tien, who was seeded sixth in Jeddah and will start the 2025 season ranked 122 in the world.
“It was a good week for me. I was really happy just to be able to qualify here based on some stuff that happened earlier in the year. So to come here and still have some success against seven other really good players is a big accomplishment and something I’m really proud of. And I’m looking forward a lot more tournaments next year.”
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
