João Fonseca has dropped to 41st in the world rankings after being unable to defend the 500 points he earned by winning the ATP 500 event in Basel last year. The 20-year-old Brazilian officially ended his ATP season on October 17, saying he needed to prioritize his physical and mental recovery after dealing with a series of injuries this year.
Fonseca also gave up the chance to defend points at the Paris Masters. Earlier, he had withdrawn from the ATP 500 in Tokyo, the Masters 1000 events in Shanghai and Cincinnati, and the US Open. His last official match was on September 18, when he played for Brazil in the Davis Cup in Rio de Janeiro despite his physical difficulties.
Fonseca has since stepped up his fitness work. His management says he is expected to return to on-court training in November. An exhibition match against Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is also confirmed for December 12 at Nubank Parque in São Paulo.
Fonseca’s career-high ranking is 24th, and he is expected to finish the year among the world’s top 50. He is currently fifth among South American players, behind Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo at No. 20, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo at No. 30, Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry at No. 31, and Peru’s Ignacio Buse at No. 33. Fonseca is the only Brazilian in the top 100; Thiago Seyboth Wild is next at No. 109.
Among players aged 20 or younger, Fonseca ranks third, behind Spain’s Rafael Jodar at No. 10 and the United States’ Learner Tien at No. 19.
Alexander Zverev has been confirmed as the new world No. 1, reaching the top of the rankings for the first time. The 29-year-old German has 9,550 points, 100 more than Italy’s Jannik Sinner, who falls to second. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz is third with 6,100 points after winning the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna on Sunday, defeating Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-4.
Sources: Folha Esporte.