Joao Fonseca finally enjoyed some success at the Rio Open after a difficult start to his 2026 season.
Fonseca emerged victorious in the doubles competition at the ATP 500 event alongside 42-year-old compatriot and former doubles world number one Marcelo Melo.
The Brazilian’s triumph follows a poor string of performances in singles at tour-level competitions, with the 19-year-old having tallied a win-loss record of 1-3 so far this year.
Where do you think Joao Fonseca will be ranked at the end of the 2026 season?
He suffered consecutive defeats at the Australian Open and the Argentina Open before losing his second match in Rio.
Amid fans’ worries about Fonseca, tennis legend Andre Agassi had a few words of advice for the teenager.
Andre Agassi tells Joao Fonseca what he needs to change
In an interview with ‘New Balls Please!‘, Agassi discussed Fonseca’s large South American fan base, who many feel are putting too much pressure on him
The American said: “I will tell you what I would be reminding him every day, it’s that it’s not his job or his role to live up to other people’s expectations. This is not what he should choose to accept.
“His perspective needs to be one of focus on what he wants and how to get better every day. [The brain] is a muscle, and he needs to hear this.
Which Grand Slam title would you like to see Joao Fonseca win?
“It’s wonderful to have this kind of support, it helps so much, but it can also be very heavy. This is something you get to choose.
“But if you fall victim to thinking you have to be something that other people expect you to be, it will work against you. So that’s what I would encourage him.”
Andre Agassi’s brief stint coaching Joao Fonseca
Agassi had the chance to coach Fonseca at the Laver Cup last year, when the eight-time major champion captained Team World for the first time.
Fonseca played just one match at the annual team event in 2025, but he came out on top.
With Agassi in his corner, Fonseca defeated Team Europe’s Flavio Cobolli in straight sets, winning 6-3, 6-4.
Soon after his appearance at the Laver Cup, Fonseca went on to win a maiden ATP 500 title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
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