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Fonseca misses Adelaide with back injury
The Brazilian will next travel to Melbourne for the Australian Open
January 10, 2026
Thomas Diniz Santos/Getty Images
Joao Fonseca is a two-time ATP Tour champion.
Written by ATP Staff
Joao Fonseca’s withdrawal from the Adelaide International has further delayed the start of the 2026 season.
The 19-year-old Brazilian pulled out of the ANZ Brisbane International last week with a lower back injury and will now miss the ATP 250 in Adelaide for the same reason.
“Unfortunately I can’t play here,” Fonseca told a news conference. “It was a difficult decision to make. I feel like the days we trained, every day I felt a little better, but it’s hard to say I was 100 percent.”
“We are trying our best to recover 100 percent to compete in the Australian Open, which is our main goal. The decision has not been made yet. We want to compete and we think it is possible. So we want to focus on recovery and unfortunately I cannot compete here and I hope to come back stronger next year.”
Fonseca, ranked 29th in the PIF ATP rankings, will now travel to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open, where he made a huge impact on his debut at the 2025 tournament. After qualifying, he defeated Andrei Rublev, then world No. 9, in straight sets in his first Grand Slam main draw.
Fonseca lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Buenos Aires last February before claiming the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 event in Basel in October. He reached a career-high world ranking of No. 24 in early November at the 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals, hosted by the PIF champion.
“I was born with something in my back that is tighter sometimes,” Fonseca said. “I already had a stress fracture five years ago, but it’s going to happen in my body, so I need to deal with it. I’m just doing my best to recover. We did an MRI and it’s not serious, but it could be serious, so we’re hoping to be 100 percent ready to compete.”
