Is Joao Fonseca the next big thing in men’s tennis? Well, Patrick Mouratoglou already gave it a nod a few months ago. From taking lessons from the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, to winning the Next Gen Finals, the 18-year-old Brazilian star has come a long way in the last few months. He was ranked outside the Top 700 at the start of 2024, and now he’s ranked 60th in the world! The Brazilian is not only establishing himself as a superstar on the court, but his off-court achievements have now also become the talk of the town.
Although Joao Fonseca’s 2025 Miami Open campaign recently came to an end at the hands of Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the R32, he did manage to catch the attention of the netizens with an astonishing feat on social media. What is it? Well, Fonseca recently surpassed the likes of Emma Raducanu, Carlos Alcaraz, and Coco Gauff to become the youngest tennis player to reach the 1 million followers mark on IG!
If we take a look at his performance this season, Fonseca has a win-loss record of 9-5 on the main Tour this season. Other than his historic triumph in Buenos Aires, he also won two Challenger events this year. However, his most remarkable victory came at the 2025 AO against the number 9, Andrey Rublev. That was the moment when everyone started to search more about him on social media, and it seems that owing to that massive curiosity, he has now landed himself in the 1 million mark. He accomplished this feat at the age of just 18 years and 7 months!
While British star Emma Raducanu reached this milestone at the age of 18 years and 10 months after her historic 2021 US Open, Carlos Alcaraz did it at the age of 19 after winning the 2022 Madrid Open. In that tournament, Alcaraz had defeated the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on his way to the title triumph. While the American superstar, Coco Gauff took 19 years and 6 months to gain this fandom. Gauff did it after winning her first major title (US Open) in 2023.
After seeing a tweet from the renowned tennis journalist, Bastien Fachan, which highlighted these stats, the six-time Grand Slam champion, Boris Becker, shared that post with the caption, “Word.” Fachan even shared a stat from Social Blade, which projected Joao Fonseca that if things go at this pace, Joao Fonseca will hit 10 million followers by the end of 2026 and 50 million by the end of 2029!
Joao Fonseca becomes the youngest tennis player to hit 1 MILLION Instagram followers!
18 years 7 months – Joao Fonseca (Miami 2025)
18 years 10 months – Emma Raducanu (US Open 2021)
19 years – Carlos Alcaraz (Madrid 2022)
19 years 6 months – Coco Gauff (US Open 2023)
Starboy pic.twitter.com/3DWw6F1HoP
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 24, 2025
Recently, Fonseca even got a pat on the back from the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Novak Djokovic heaped praise on the teenager’s mental fortitude by saying, “He’s been [the] talk of the Tour in the last several months. I mean, deservedly so. He’s a very good tennis player. I mean, so young. Just incredible firepower from both ends of the baseline, serve [as well]. He’s a very complete player.“
Djokovic who’s still in pursuit of his first title of the 2025 season in Miami, further added, “Of course, what is impressive is the way he strikes the ball, but even more so is how he handles the nerves on the court for someone that doesn’t have experience at all playing at the highest level.” He also highlighted that during his recent stay in Australia, he said to everyone how important it is to have a “future superstar,” especially from a big country like Brazil.
A lot of Brazilian fans came up to the Miami Gardens to cheer for one of the brightest prospects of their nation. However, they were left a bit disappointed after the R32 match. What did Joao Fonseca and Alex de Mianaur say after the match, though?
“I’m on the right path” – Despite his exit from the Miami Open, Joao Fonseca looked quite happy with his campaign
Joao Fonseca started his campaign in Miami with a win against America’s Learner Tien, and then in the next round, he outclassed the Frenchman Ugo Humbert in two sets. However, he went down to Aussie star, Alex de Minaur, in the R32 by 7-5,5-7,3-6. De Minaur has now secured a record-tying 17th in the season. There were quite a few intense moments in this epic battle, and the Brazilian supporters were seen raising their voices for Fonseca. At one point, the chair umpire, Lahyani, even had to speak in Portuguese to the Brazilian audience to calm them up a bit in the stands. After this match, we saw De Minaur sign the camera lens with, “Rio Open “
Speaking about a grueling 2 hours and 31 minutes match, the Aussie said, “It was a hell of a battle. I knew coming in what to expect. Not only is he an incredibly talented, dangerous, explosive player, but he’s playing with so much confidence at the moment, and the crowd behind him. I knew I was going to be up against it, and it was going to take every single ounce of me. Just put my head down and got to work, so very happy with that win.”
What did Fonseca say after this defeat, though? Well, the Brazilian also heaped praise on Alex de Mianaur, highlighting his incredible performance on the men’s Tour and even hailed him as a “great fighter.” Talking about the carnival-like atmosphere inside the stadium, he admitted that he felt like he was playing in Brazil.
What are the positives he has taken from this campaign? “Once again, I faced the top players, which helps me gauge my level. I truly see that I’m on the right path, playing several matches against the best, that’s where I want to be. I’m leaving happy with how I played those matches,” said Fonseca. His rapid rise has started to earn him quite a few followers on social media. But will he earn his first major title this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Beating Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu, Brazilian Star Joao Fonseca Hits a Unique 1 Million Milestone appeared first on EssentiallySports.
