Fonseca: 'I'm feeling healthy & happy on court again'
“Jo-ao Fon-se-ca! Jo-ao Fon-se-ca!”
The Joao Fonseca anthem rang loudly throughout the 19-year-old’s 7-6(2), 6-4 win against Raphael Collignon Wednesday evening in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open. Whether between points and games, during changeovers or well after the match, the spirited crowd lifted the two-time ATP Tour singles champion on its figurative shoulders and championed him to victory.
“I just try to push with as much energy as I can,” Fonseca told ATPTour.com. “I just try to bring them to me to give me strength to keep going.”
The chant has followed Fonseca around the world, with fans across the globe throwing their support around the surging star. According to the Brazilian, he first began feeling such support at a junior tournament played at his home facility, the Rio de Janeiro Country Club.
“It was the first time that I felt very, very pressured, because I was the first seed and I was getting a wild card to the main draw of Roland Garos juniors,” Fonseca said. “I won the tournament and it was the first time in my club that a lot of people were cheering for me. I felt a little bit of pressure, of course, but it was fun.”
<img alt=”Joao Fonseca” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/03/05/10/24/fonseca-indian-wells-2026-wednesday-fans.jpg?h=1080&w=1920″ />
The teen fondly recalled memories from his younger days in the sport, hitting the ball as hard as he could. Sometimes the ball would land in, but many times it would fly into the back fence.
Today, Fonseca has learned to rein in his power and unleash it against the best players in the world. That has helped him to a career-high No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings and an ATP 500 title last October in Basel.
“It was always my thing to hit hard,” Fonseca said. “Mostly on the important points when a little bit of pressure comes, I wanted to go for it. I wanted to do what I normally practised, not only [push] the ball. I was always like this and that’s going to be me for forever. That’s a thing I can’t change.
“I just need to be more solid, of course, and more consistent. I need to improve with the consistency, but that’s me, I can’t change.”
[NO 1 CLUB]Fonseca arrived at the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event with a 1-3 record for the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. But the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals champion was dealing with a back injury and showed signs of an uptick in Rio de Janeiro, where he partnered countryman Marcelo Melo to the doubles title.
Now the crowd favourite is into the second round in the California desert and gathering momentum with the ‘Sunshine Double’ under way.
“It’s always good. After the first two months of the year, I’ve been struggling a little bit with injury, and then back [getting the] rhythm,” Fonseca said. “I’m feeling healthy again, feeling happy back on court again. I’m just feeling good and very happy the way that I played today.”
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