Roland Garros: Del Potro & Sabatini give verdict on South America’s Grand Slam drought amid Joao Fonseca run
Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca has been one of the stars of Roland Garros 2026, and Argentine legends Gabriela Sabatini and Juan Martin del Potro have spoken to Tennis365 about South America’s Grand Slam singles title drought.
Fonseca has been touted as a potential major champion since his emergence on tour, and the 19-year-old has achieved a significant breakthrough at this year’s French Open.
After defeating Luka Pavlovic in the opening round at Roland Garros, Fonseca came back from two sets to love down for the first time in his career to see off Dino Prizmic in the second round.
The Rio de Janeiro native fought back from a 0-2 deficit in sets again as he delivered a remarkable performance to overcome the great Novak Djokovic in an epic third round contest lasting just shy of five hours.
Fonseca then backed up the biggest win of his career with an impressive four-set victory against two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud in the last 16.
By reaching the quarter-finals in Paris, Fonseca has already accomplished his best Grand Slam result, and he will face Jakub Mensik for a place in the final four.
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Del Potro and Sabatini discuss the long wait for a South American major champion
Del Potro, who beat Roger Federer in the 2009 US Open final to win his only major, was the last South American player to secure a Grand Slam singles title.
Sabatini is the only woman from South America to win a Slam in singles since the Open Era began in 1968, having defeated Steffi Graf to claim her lone major crown at the US Open in 1990.
Both del Potro and Sabatini are ambassadors for the Roland Garros Junior Series by Renault, a junior tournament staged in Sao Paolo that Fonseca won in 2022.
In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked del Potro and Sabatini about the fact they were the last South American man and woman to lift Grand Slam singles trophies.
Del Potro expressed his hope that this major drought will end.
“We want to see South American players winning a Grand Slam. Women’s, men’s sides, it’s difficult to get one of those,” said del Potro.
“But we support our regime, we support South American tennis. We try to help them to do good careers.
“And of course become fans of the juniors players, or the South American professional players, and we also like to follow them in any Grand Slam tournaments. And hopefully one day, they can be the next Grand Slam champions.”
Sabatini addressed how the Roland Garros Junior Series can help develop future champions from their continent
“It is spectacular to have a tournament like this (the Roland Garros Junior Series),” said Sabatini.
“We need more tournaments like this. I think you have different legs in developing tennis, and this is one of them: the competition.
“So, I think we are having more tournaments in South America, but we need more. We need this kind of experience and exposure.”
On the importance of having more events in South America, Sabatini continued: “We have a history here in South America. Tennis history.
“A lot of fans, very enthusiastic about tennis, very passionate.
“That’s why, when you go to a tournament here, either if it’s professional ATP, WTA, or a junior tournament, the crowd is full.
“And we need more of this, so hopefully we will keep having more of these tournaments, because it’s part of the development of our tennis players.”
Del Potro added: “The South American tennis fans know very well about tennis. They know everything about the tennis players, and the tour, the tournaments, the history.”
