Who are Joao Fonseca’s parents? How Roberta and Christiano Fonseca nurtured rising star
Joao Fonseca claimed the biggest title of his burgeoning career at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, and there were some special guests in the crowd to celebrate.
The teen star was joined by his parents and wider family in Basel for his championship match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, with Fonseca beating the Spaniard in straight sets to triumph.
It is the second title of the Brazilian’s career, and he is now ranked inside the top 30 aged just 19, with his father Christiano and mum Roberta remaining key supporters as he continues his rapid rise up the ATP pecking order.
Who are Christiano and Roberta Fonseca?
Christiano and Roberta welcomed their son in August 2006, with Fonseca raised in Rio de Janeiro where he first started playing tennis aged four in his home neighbourhood, Ipanema.
The Rio de Janeiro Country Club was next to the Fonseca family home, giving Joao easy access to the sport as a young child.
His father, Christiano, is a hugely successful financier and businessman, the CEO and co-founder of IP Capital Partners, the first independent hedge fund in Brazil.
The company manages assets worth up to $1 billion, and while Christiano’s net worth is unlikely to come anywhere near that, Fonseca would certainly not have had to worry about the demanding costs of being a junior tennis player.
Fonseca’s sporting heritage comes through his mother, Roberta, who was a junior volleyball player in the 1980s, and reportedly still regularly plays the sport when she is at home in Brazil.
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It was Roberto who began travelling around the world with Fonseca when he was still a junior and began making his way into the sport, and she was – alongside Christiano – got to see Fonseca claim his second title of 2025 in person.
And, the 19-year-old in fact dedicated his Basel victory to his mum and his wider family.
He said: “Since I was young, my mum travelled with me. Since I was 11, I only travelled with her, so that title is for her.
“My parents just came from Brazil. They were coming to Paris and changed their flights and came here one hour before the match with my uncles. It is just amazing to have them here for the biggest title of my career.”
Both Christiano and Roberta largely keep a low profile away from their son’s career, though were also present when he lifted the Next Gen ATP Finals title in Jeddah last December, one of the first significant triumphs of his career.
And, with the star already a two-time ATP Tour titleist and a top-30 player, it seems like they will be able to revel in their son’s successes for many more years to come.
