After electrifying fans and insiders in the early months of this season – in which he won his first ATP title in Buenos Aires after defeating Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open – Joao Fonseca's level has drastically dropped in recent months and there has also been some criticism of the young Brazilian ace.
Many people expected brighter performances from him especially during the red clay season, but his run at the Wimbledon Championships was considered satisfactory taking into account that he has no experience on this surface.
Most experts were convinced that Joao could achieve a very brilliant result at the Toronto Masters 1000, a tournament that has suffered numerous forfeits among top players and has a draw quite open to potential surprises. However, the South American star's run in Ontario ended already in the first round against Tristan Schoolkate, who took advantage of his opponent's numerous ups and downs to achieve victory in two sets.
Fonseca has exited the Canadian Open
The feeling is that Fonseca is feeling a bit from the pressure on his shoulders and is struggling to express his best tennis as he had managed to do in the first months of 2025.
Speaking on 'Tennis Channel', former WTA star Lindsay Davenport analyzed Joao's weaknesses in detail: “He really struggled with his return in the match. Yes, Schoolkate served well but there was no real problem-solving for Fonseca in that category. He just wasn’t able to get the rally in to start the point when he was receiving.
He now has two weeks until his next match, or about 12 days or so. So, it’ll be interesting to see if he goes and does a training block in south Florida. Maybe he goes back to Brazil for a little bit.
You’ve got to be able to manage an 18, almost 19-year-old’s mental game as well, and this has been a lot this year maybe.”
Fonseca's next tournament will be the Cincinnati Masters 1000, which should be very suitable for his game ahead of the US Open.
