Teenagers Fonseca, Landaluce and Tien reach Aussie Open main draw

It has been a joy to observe the rise of Brazilian teenage sensation Joao Fonseca, who earlier today navigated the final round of qualifying to reach the Australian Open main draw.

By defeating Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante on Thursday, Fonseca will take his place in a Grand Slam main draw for the first time in his career - and face world No. 9 Andrey Rublev.

Fonseca is steeped in the ITF player pathway and reached No.1 in the ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings in September 2023 following his triumph at the US Open Junior Championships in New York.

His talent had come to the fore well before then, however, as he spearheaded Brazil’s first ever Davis Cup Juniors triumph in November 2022 as they became just the second South American nation to lift the trophy.

The teenager’s rise since then has been meteoric and in August 2024 he sealed his first professional title after conquering all before him at the Lexington Challenger. Just over a month later, he made his Davis Cup debut for Brazil.

Fonseca recorded some notable victories for his nation as Brazil battled to reach the Davis Cup Final 8, while in December he became the second-youngest player – after Jannik Sinner – to win the Next Gen ATP Finals.

The world No. 113 already has an ATP Challenger title to his name this year after topping the podium in Canberra, and will now take his place in the Australian Open draw – is there any stopping this prodigiously talented teen?

Fonseca is not the only aspiring young player to have reached the main draw of the Happy Slam, with Spain’s Martin Landaluce and Learner Tien of the United States doing likewise.

In fact, it is the first time that three teenagers have qualified for the men’s singles main draw at a Grand Slam since 2017 Wimbledon – when Taylor Fritz, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas all qualified for the main draw

Landaluce is another former junior world No. 1 who has advanced along the ITF player pathway. Like Fonseca, he has a US Open Junior Championships title to his name and represented Spain at the 2022 Davis Cup Juniors Finals in Antlaya, Turkiye.

The 18-year-old, who dispatched Czechia’s Dalibor Svrcina to reach the Australian Open main draw, won his maiden professional title on the ITF World Tennis Tour in February 2024 before sealing victory at the Olbia Challenger in October.

World No. 120 Tien, meanwhile, was included in the ITF’s Class of 2024, which celebrated players who had successful years on the ITF World Tennis Tour and were predicted to go on to bigger things this year.

The 19-year-old enjoyed a rip-roaring season in 2024, winning seven titles – four on the ITF World Tennis Tour and three at Challenger level – and has certainly lived up to billing so far this year. He defeated Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik in the final round of qualifying.

Tien already has experience of a Grand Slam after receiving wild cards into the US Open main draw in 2022, 2023 and 2024, although he awaits his first main draw victory. For world No. 143 Landaluce, this was the first time he has contested qualifying for a Grand Slam

An exciting few days awaits for all three talented teenagers.