Joao Fonseca came back from the abdominal injury that kept him out of the US Open to win a Davis Cup rubber for Brazil in Rio de Janeiro last weekend, beating Dominic Stricker 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. On Monday he said he was done until the tour leaves Asia.
The 20-year-old Brazilian, ranked 28th, announced on Instagram that he would skip the Asian swing, according to AFP. [UNVERIFIED: withdrawal and Instagram quotes read via AFP copy syndicated by Malay Mail and Flashscore; Fonseca’s Instagram post and an updated ATP entry list not checked] That takes him out of the ATP 500 in Tokyo, which runs from 30 September to 6 October, and the Shanghai Masters that follows it.
“I made a huge effort to return and represent Brazil in the Davis Cup, but I still need more time,” Fonseca wrote, in AFP’s translation. “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.”
The win in Rio. Stricker took the first set, and Fonseca turned the match around from there to give Brazil the opening point of a tie it went on to win 3-1 over Switzerland, AFP reported. It was his comeback match. The Instagram post that followed on Monday called 2026 “a very challenging year.”
The season so far. The injuries began early as recurring back problems contributed to a first-round exit at the Australian Open in January. The best tennis of his career came in between: in Paris he beat Novak Djokovic in the third round on his way to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal and he reached the third round at Wimbledon.
What changes in Tokyo. Fonseca was one of 23 names on the Tokyo entry list the ATP Tour published on 3 September, alongside the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and the 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar. His withdrawal opens a main-draw place for the next player on the alternates list. Our Japan Open guide and Shanghai Masters guide cover both events.
Another name on that Tokyo list is moving the other way. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina returns this week at the Chengdu Open, his first event since Umag in July after a back injury, according to the ATP Tour.
What comes next. Fonseca did not give a date for his return in the post. After Shanghai the tour moves indoors to Europe, the stretch our guide to the European indoor season lays out. “I know that’s just part of an athlete’s life,” he wrote, “but even so, it’s still frustrating.”
