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Fonseca will miss Adelaide due to a back injury

The Brazilian then heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open
January 10, 2026

Joao Fonseca has further delayed the start of his 2026 season after withdrawing from the Adelaide International.

The 19-year-old Brazilian withdrew from the ANZ-presented Brisbane International last week due to a lower back injury, and will now skip the ATP 250 in Adelaide for the same reason.

“Unfortunately I can’t play here,” Fonseca said at a press conference. “It’s hard to make this decision. I felt those days when we practiced, I felt a little better every day, but it’s hard to say I’m one hundred percent.

“We are doing our best to recover 100 percent to play the Australian Open, which is our main goal. That decision has not been made. We want to play, we think it will be possible. So we want to focus on recovery. Unfortunately I couldn’t play here and I hope to come back stronger next year.”

Fonseca, ranked No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings, now heads to Melbourne to prepare for the Australian Open, where he made a major impact on the event’s debut in 2025. After progressing through qualifying, he upset then world No. 9 Andrey Rublev in straight sets in his first main draw match at a major.

Fonseca lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Buenos Aires last February before claiming the biggest title of his career at the ATP 500 in Basel in October. At the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF Champion, he reached his career high of No. 24 in the world in early November.

“I was born with something in my back and sometimes it gets tighter,” Fonseca said. “I already had a stress fracture five years ago, but it’s something that’s in my body, so I have to deal with it. I’m just doing my best to recover. We did an MRI and it’s nothing very serious, but it could be serious, so we want to be 100 percent ready to play.”