Guto Miguel garante vaga invicto na semifinal do UTS Rio; João Fonseca is eliminated

On Friday night, July 17, 2026, the Maracanãzinho Gymnasium, in Rio de Janeiro, welcomed the big names in world tennis for the UTS tournament, a league created by Serena Williams’ renowned former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Two Brazilian tennis players took to the court in search of a place in the event’s finals. Guto Miguel secured two victories and advanced to the semifinals, which will be played this Saturday. On the other hand, João Fonseca failed to qualify among the four best and is out of contention for the title.

Young Guto Miguel maintains his unbeaten record and advances

On the first day of competitions, on Thursday, Guto Miguel was the only Brazilian representative in action. The 17-year-old athlete from Goiás won a victory over Nick Kyrgios, who was already among the 13 best in the world, and excited the fans present at Maracanãzinho. This Friday, the young prodigy returned to the court to face American Brandon Nakashima. With a score of three quarters to two, Guto guaranteed his presence in the fight for the UTS Rio title and will have Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo as his next opponent in the semifinals.

João Fonseca is disqualified from the title fight

Shortly after Guto’s departure, João Fonseca made his debut in the tournament and also started with a victory. The Rio native beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor by three quarters to one. However, in the last clash of the day, the world number 27 returned to the court to face Australian Nick Kyrgios, suffering a defeat. Even though he is out of the race for the main title, Fonseca will still return to compete for seventh place in the competition.

UTS Rio finals and millionaire prizes

Tennis players return to Maracanãzinho this Saturday, July 18, 2026, for the decisive matches of UTS Rio. From 12 noon, Brasília time, the league will be broadcast live. The four athletes who advanced to the semifinals are Guto Miguel, Nick Kyrgios, Francisco Cerúndolo and Brandon Nakashima. The grand champion of the tournament will receive a prize of R$2 million.

Friday’s final classification

After Friday’s matches, the leaderboard was defined as follows:

• Guto Miguel
• Nick Kyrgios
• Francisco Cerundolo
• Brandon Nakashima
• Cameron Norrie
• Tallon Griekspoor
• João Fonseca
• Corentin Moutet

Guto overcomes Nakashima in an exciting game and guarantees a place in the semi-final

The Goiano player started the clash against Brandon Nakashima with some difficulties, making errors in his shots and sending balls out. However, Guto managed to recover and showed confidence throughout the first quarter, closing it at 13/12 in the final seconds. In the second quarter, the Brazilian’s performance improved even further, reaching 19/8 on the scoreboard. Despite the initial advantage, Nakashima did not give up and reacted.

The American tennis player won two consecutive quarters (12/18 and 11/14), taking the match to “sudden death”, a decisive extra time. With two consecutive points, Guto Miguel secured his place in the next phase of the tournament, raising the crowd at Maracanãzinho.

João Fonseca is out of the title fight

After Guto’s victory, João Fonseca entered the court to face Tallon Griekspoor. After losing the first quarter, the Brazilian had the fervent support of the fans, who demonstrated during the Dutchman’s attacks. Griekspoor committed unforced errors and failed serves, which paved the way for Fonseca’s three-quarters to one victory in his first match at the Maracanãzinho.

In the last game this Friday, João faced Nick Kyrgios, former top 13 in the world, and suffered a defeat by three quarters to zero. With this result, the Brazilian finished seventh among the eight tennis players in the competition and will return to the court this Saturday, but with no chance of fighting for the title.

Cerúndolo also advances to the semi-final

Francisco Cerúndolo secured his first victory this Friday and, with that, advanced to the semifinals of the UTS Rio. In the third match of the day, the Argentine tennis player defeated Englishman Cameron Norrie by three quarters to zero, earning his place in the finals in search of the title and the R$2 million prize.

Results of Thursday’s matches

• Corentin Moutet 2 x 3 Tallon Griekspoor
• Francisco Cerúndolo 1 x 3 Brandon Nakashima
• Nick Kyrgios 2 x 3 Guto Miguel
• Cameron Norrie 3 x 1 Corentin Moutet

Friday’s clashes and results

• Guto Miguel 3 x 2 Brandon Nakashima
• João Fonseca 3 x 1 Tallon Griekspoor
• Francisco Cerúndolo 3 x 0 Cameron Norrie
• João Fonseca 3 x 0 Nick Kyrgios

Finals schedule on Saturday, July 18

• 12pm – Cameron Norrie x Tallon Griekspoor (dispute for fifth place)
• 1pm – Semifinal: Guto Miguel x Francisco Cerúndolo
• 2pm – Semifinal: Nick Kyrgios x Brandon Nakashima
• 3pm – João Fonseca x Corentin Moutet (dispute for seventh place)
• 4pm – Final