Justine Henin shares her concerns for Joao Fonseca after watching what has happened to Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard developed into the leading figure of the new era of men’s tennis alongside World number one Jannik Sinner.
The 21-year-old began to fulfil his potential in a major way, as he already has four Grand Slams to his name.
But with his success comes greater scrutiny and expectation, and Justine Henin fears that Joao Fonseca could be going down the same path.
Why is Justin Henin ‘scared’ for Joao Fonseca?
At just 18 years of age, Fonseca has already won an ATP Tour title and he has certainly made fans very excited with his game.
The Brazilian has been tipped to achieve great things in the sport, much like Carlos Alcaraz earlier in this decade.
As the buzz around Fonseca continues to grow, Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, thinks he may encounter the same sort of challenges as Alcaraz, which do not help the development of a young player.
“We can see that he’s going through phases of reflection,” Henin told Eurosport France. “He’s a 21-year-old player who has won four Grand Slams but still has so much to learn to get through more difficult times.
“Since he arrived on the tour, what have people been saying about Carlos Alcaraz? ‘It’s extraordinary what he offers us in terms of tennis, it’s completely crazy, we love watching him play, he’s the player we most like to see evolve.’
“And he knows all of this, he hears it because we hear everything anyway, they can no longer be protected from that and it puts enormous pressure on his shoulders. For me, a Fonseca who arrives and when I see the excitement around this boy, it scares me a little.”
Carlos Alcaraz hopes to improve his form over the European clay court season
Alcaraz certainly has some work to do following a somewhat underwhelming start to his 2025 season.
The World number three has claimed just one title, which was Alcaraz’s first indoor title win at the Rotterdam Open.
But Alcaraz has not made another final this season and has suffered some surprising defeats to the likes of David Goffin and Jiri Lehecka.
Alcaraz has struggled for consistency on hard courts, but he will aim to rediscover his best form on the clay.
He missed the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters, Barcelona and Italian Open events due to injury, so the player will be fit and raring to go in 2025.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
