Joao Fonseca announced on Monday that he will skip the upcoming Asian swing on the ATP Tour. The 20-year-old Brazilian had been signed up for the 500-point tournament in Tokyo and the Shanghai Masters 1000. Instead, he will rest and recover as he comes down the stretch of an up-and-down 2026 campaign.
Fonseca posted the following on social media:
“Hi everyone. I wanted to share something with you all. 2026 has been a very challenging year for me. On top of everything the profession demands, a series of injuries ended up taking me out of important tournaments and keeping me from playing the way I would like to.
“I know that’s just part of an athlete’s life, but even so, it’s still frustrating. I made a huge effort to return and represent Brazil in the Davis Cup, but I still need more time. I talked a lot with my team, and we came to the conclusion that the best decision right now is to listen to my body, give my mind and body a break, and skip the Asian swing. Thank you so much to everyone for all the support. See you soon!”
Fonseca’s season is highlighted by a comeback from two sets down against Novak Djokovic en route to the French Open quarterfinals. Aside from that result, though, the world No. 28 has been hampered by physical problems. He played a Davis Cup match this past weekend (d. Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker) but has not played a tour tournament since withdrawing from the Cincinnati Masters prior to his third-round match.
should pull the plug on the whole season, to be honest
Nice one, Smeagol.
That was very good decision and yes, giving injuries proper time to heal by taking the rest of the year would be better. He’s still so young and we all know what happens when young athletes let injuries become chronic. Rune took the right approach and even he had to battle with himself to take as long as was necessary for proper rehabilitation.