Multiple Grand Slam winner responds when asked if Joao Fonseca can break into the top ten next year

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Joao Fonseca continues to impress on the ATP Tour as he makes his presence felt at Wimbledon.

The young Brazilian made headlines earlier this year in Melbourne when Fonseca stunned Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

One month later, Fonseca won his first career title, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the final of the Argentina Open.

A third-round appearance at the French Open followed, as the teenager enjoyed his career-best Grand Slam result.

Matching that at Wimbledon, Fonseca beat Jenson Brooksby in the second round 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, to book his place in the round of 32.

During the match, one former Grand Slam winner was asked whether Fonseca can break into the top ten next year, to which he provided an interesting response.

Todd Woodbridge thinks Joao Fonseca is still two years away from a top ten breakthrough

When commentator Nick Lester asked 22-time Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champion Todd Woodbridge whether he thought Fonseca would be ranked in the top ten next year, the Aussie explained why he’s still a few years away.

“I think it’s going to take two years for that,” said Woodbridge.

“There are a few things to think about. I’ve mentioned the physical side, he’s obviously learning how to win matches, but when you look at the score lines, he’s lost a lot of matches that he’s been in, and they’ve been long and they’ve been tight. 

“This is an example in this match where he’s had a lot of chances to finish, win games, break points, game points, and hasn’t been able to do that.”

Woodbridge named three players on the ATP Tour who possess the ability to close out matches, which Fonseca is currently lacking.

“I look at somebody like [Alex] de Minaur, who with his game style and how he’s managed to shut people out of matches, finish matches quickly, and that’s another skill that I think he will learn,” he said.

“It’s like [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz, they can win, as soon as they get a hold of it, it’s over, I don’t think he’s quite got that yet.

“To get to the top ten, you can’t give players chances or breathing room to get back into matches; it will happen, but it will take some time.”

Fonseca is still a way off reaching the top ten, but thanks to his run to the third round of Wimbledon, he is set to debut at a career-high ranking.

Joao Fonseca set to break into the top 50 with Wimbledon run

Travelling to London ranked 54th in the world, Fonseca rose to 46th in the Live Rankings with his win over Brooksby.

In the Live Rankings, Fonseca trails world number ten Ben Shelton by 1,864 points, highlighting the work the Brazilian still has left to do.

A more accurate reading of where Fonseca really stacks up is the Live ATP Race, as it shows how many points players have accumulated in a calendar year.

As Fonseca only began playing a full ATP schedule in 2025, the Race is arguably more relevant than the rolling 12-month ranking system.

Since the beginning of 2025, Fonseca has earned more points than all but 29 players in the men’s game.

If he can maintain that form through the remainder of the year, the Brazilian will likely head to Melbourne with a seed next to his name in 2026.

He won’t want to get too far ahead of himself, however, and will first focus on his third-round match at Wimbledon.

Fonseca will play Chile’s Nicolas Jarry for a place in the last 16 on Friday, July 4.