How a rich kid from Brazil is taking French Open 2025 by storm: The story of Joao Fonseca & his finance mogul dad

Joao Fonseca recorded his first-ever third-round appearance at a Grand Slam tournament in fine style this week. The 18-year-old Brazilian prodigy has won his first two matches at this year's French Open in straight sets.

Fonseca began his campaign in Paris, which marked only his second-ever stint in the main draw of a Major, with an upset over 30th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz. The World No. 65 played out of his skin to rout the Pole 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes. He has since followed the win up with another straight-sets defeat of local favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert, coming through 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 in nearly three hours to advance to the Round of 32 at the claycourt Major.

With his recent results, Joao Fonseca has achieved several milestones. This week, the teenager became the youngest player since World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to win a match at Roland Garros. He also became the youngest South American to secure an ATP Tour title with his Argentina Open triumph in February this year. Those aware of the Brazilian's rich talent and affluent background would've seen these successes coming from a mile away. However, the pillars of the above milestones weren't erected in a day.

Below, we chronicle Joao Fonseca's steep rise in the tennis world by taking a look at the 18-year-old and his family's background:

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Joao Fonseca played multiple sports growing up

Joao Fonseca looks on after reaching French Open 3R | Image Source: Getty

As all great players have done before his time, Joao Fonseca tried his hand at multiple sports as a pre-teen, which included soccer, climbing, cycling, and surfing. His father, Christiano Fonseca Filho, soon encouraged him to play tennis after it became clear that he had good coordination. His mother, Roberta, meanwhile, played volleyball for Flamengo's junior team in her heyday.

Fonseca's initial breakthrough on the ATP Tour came at the bare age of 16 as he reached the quarterfinals at the 2023 Rio Open against all odds. He became popular in Brazil overnight following the 500-level event and chose to forego his college eligibility at the University of Virginia in February 2024.

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Joao Fonseca's father is a titan of the Brazilian hedge fund industry

Joao Fonseca's father, Christiano Fonseca Filho, founded the Rio de Janeiro-based IP Capital Partners, Brazil's first hedge fund company, in 1988. Currently working as the CEO of the company, which has over 20 years of experience in investing in stocks and managing offshore accounts, Fonseca Sr. has ensured that his child makes the best finance-related decisions at this nascent stage of his career.

For those unaware, the 18-year-old turned down two offers from none other than Roger Federer, one of the greatest players of all time and ranked ninth in Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes in 2023. Last year, Federer's management company TEAM8 showed interest in the Brazilian teen phenom. However, since the tennis prodigy is already being managed by his parents, he declined the offer. Later on, he also didn't accept the invite to the 2024 Laver Cup as an alternate and hitting partner.

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Joao Fonseca monopolized juniors' tennis circuit before turning pro

Although Joao Fonseca dabbled in different sports early on, he started focusing on tennis soon. He would attend the Rio Open as a kid, which "motivated him to focus on tennis and pursue the sport for his career," by his own admission. Having developed a natural aptitude for clay, the Brazilian recorded consistent results in the juniors' events back home.

In September 2023, Fonseca became the ITF Juniors World No. 1 after winning his first boys' Major singles title at the US Open. The then-17-year-old finished the year as the ITF Juniors World Champion with a 90% (9-1) win rate on grass, 80% (12-3) win rate on hardcourt, and 71% (10-4) win rate on clay. The rest, as they say, is history.