Tennis in Latin America is undeniably growing, with stars like Joao Fonseca spearheading a resurgence in talent from the region.
He is expected to be their first real challenger in some time, with a forehand certainly already good enough to rival most on the ATP Tour.
His electric start to life on the professional circuit has come at the perfect time for Brazilian tennis too, with one of its biggest female stars of the last decade having seemingly begun her steady decline.
In fact, this latest loss for Beatriz Haddad Maia might just be the most damaging she has suffered in some time, given the dire rankings implications it has already had.
Beatriz Haddad Maia suffers a new rankings setback
Having opted to enter the Strasbourg Open qualifying draw, the former French Open semi-finalist must be credited for swallowing her pride and taking the step down to try and earn her place amongst the sport’s elite once again.
However, it did not have the desired effect, sadly, having lost in the very first round to Shuai Zhang.
With this defeat, Haddad Maia has now lost her last four matches, all without winning a single set.
And, most frustratingly, she will also drop outside of the world’s top 100, less than three years after she first broke into the top 10.
Joao Fonseca to take the torch from Beatriz Haddad Maia
Whilst Haddad Maia has undeniably enjoyed a successful career, her achievements are seemingly set to be eclipsed by Fonseca eventually.
After all, with the trajectory of this teenager phenomenon, excitement only continues to grow about this latest Latin American star.
South America needed a player like Fonseca to emerge, particularly with the recent downturn in true elite talents. Juan Martin del Potro remains the last real superstar from that region to emerge onto the ATP Tour.
Already Fonseca’s fans have caused a stir at a handful of tournaments, and this is a testament to the appetite for the sport this part of the world has.
Are Joao Fonseca’s fans good for tennis? 😬
For so long, Haddad Maia flew the flag high for Brazilian tennis and remained the highest-ranked Latin American player for much of her career.
However, recent struggles both on and off the court have seen her ranking slowly slip, culminating in this recent drop outside of the top 100.
Many will hope she can engineer a resurgence, with still so much of her career left at just 29 years old. Alas, as her stock falls, Fonseca’s seems to only be rising more and more. He is ready to take the torch from Haddad Maia.
