Brazilian tennis player João Fonseca will start his career on grass courts early this year. The organization of the ATP 500 in Halle granted an invitation for the young athlete to compete in the preliminary round of the doubles bracket, competing in partnership with local athlete Daniel Altmaier. The guest pair will play their first game in the tournament this Saturday (13), in a match scheduled to start at around 11am in the Brasília time zone.
Signing up for the doubles competition is part of the plan for the Rio native, who occupies 25th place in the singles world rankings, to adapt more quickly to the conditions on the grass surface before the start of the Wimbledon tournament. João Fonseca and Daniel Altmaier’s first challenge will be against the partnership formed by Czech Petr Nouza and Austrian Neil Oberleitner. To guarantee a place in the main draw of the German competition, they need to win two games in a row.
This will not be the Brazilian tennis player’s first experience in doubles tournaments throughout this current season. In February, the young man competed in the Rio Open and won the category title playing alongside experienced doubles player Marcelo Melo.
Draw defines the path in the singles bracket in Halle
Also throughout this Saturday (13), the definition of the singles clashes will indicate who will be João Fonseca’s debut opponent at the ATP 500 in Halle. In the 2025 championship, the Brazilian competitor ended up eliminated in the first round of the event in Germany, surpassed by Italian tennis player Flavio Cobolli. For the current edition, in addition to last year’s tormentor himself, the tournament has confirmed the presence of big names from the world’s top 10, such as Alexander Zverev, Felix Aliassime, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, with the main games starting on Monday (15).
As soon as he finishes his commitments in the city of Halle, Fonseca will travel to British territory to play the ATP 250 in Eastbourne, England, a competition that starts on June 22 and serves as the last preparatory stop for Wimbledon.
