Joao Fonseca Shares Injury Update After Withdrawing from Another Tournament in 2026

Joao Fonseca has further delayed the start of his 2026 season after withdrawing from the Adelaide International. The Brazilian teenager had pulled out of the ongoing Brisbane International due to a lower back injury. He has now admitted that he might be a doubt for the Australian Open.

This time last year, he won the ATP Challenger in Canberra before winning through qualifying at the Australian Open and upsetting Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open. He finished the 2025 season on a high after winning the Swiss Indoors, his second career tour-level title in a year.

However, this year, there were hopes that he would continue with the same momentum, but unfortunately, he has not been able to play a competitive match. He pulled out of the Brisbane International, citing that he was struggling with a lower back problem, and he will now skip the Adelaide International, which kicks off on January 12.

The 2024 Next Gen Finals champion remains doubtful for the 2026 Australian Open, which starts on January 18. The 18-year-old is currently ranked World No.24, and he’s set to be in the main draw of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. It will be the first time in his career that he will be in the main draw of a major tournament.

During a press conference in Adelaide, Fonseca told reporters that he has pulled out of the Adelaide International. He pointed out that he has been feeling better on the practice court for the past few days, but he’s yet to be at his best level ahead of the ATP 250 tournament in South Australia:

Unfortunately, I couldn’t, I’m not able to play here. It’s difficult to make this decision. I felt those days that we were practicing, I mean, every day feeling a little bit better, but it’s difficult to say that I’m a hundred per cent. We are trying our best to recover a hundred percent to play the Australian Open, which is our main goal. The decision is not made. We want to play, we think that it’s going to be possible.

Fonseca featured in exhibition events during the off-season. In fact, he played against Carlos Alcaraz at the Miami Invitational in early December. There’s no information as to whether it was during an exhibition match that he suffered the lower back injury, but the Brazilian teenager will hope to be 100% physically fit before the Australian Open.

Joao Fonseca narrates the reason behind his lower back injury

Joao Fonseca didn’t have much struggle with injuries last season as he planned his schedule to suit him. He didn’t play a single match during the Asian swing, opting to focus more on the indoor hard-court season. That paid off in style as he won the Swiss Indoors after beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final.

During the aforementioned press conference, Fonseca explained that he was born with something in his back. He narrated that it is something that is going to be in his body throughout his career, but he hopes to find a way to deal with it:

I was born with something in my back and sometimes it’s more tight. I already had a stress fracture five years ago, but it’s something that it’s going to be in my body, so I need to deal with it. I’m just trying my best to recover. We did a MRI, and it’s nothing very serious, but can be serious, so we want to be a hundred per cent to play.

Fonseca earned his breakthrough on tour last year after winning his first title at the Argentina Open. He climbed from outside the Top 200, finishing the year in the top 30 for the first time in his career. He has been dubbed the best Roger Federer and challenged Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

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