Rio Open hero Joao Fonseca loses out on nearly $50,000 due to NCAA prize money limit: Reports

Rising Brazilian tennis star Joao Fonseca is likely to lose out on nearly $50,000 in prize money due to NCAA prize money rules.

Fonseca recently grabbed the limelight at his home tournament – the 2024 Rio Open. At the ATP 500 event, the former junior No. 1 became the first player born in 2006 to win a match on the ATP circuit. He advanced to the quarterfinal, where he was defeated by eventual runner-up Mariano Navone.

Ideally, making the last eight in Rio would make a tennis pro $57,540 richer. However, Joao Fonseca may not pocket the entire prize money despite reaching the quarterfinal, thanks to a reported agreement the 17-year-old has signed with the University of Virginia.

According to the rules reportedly put in place by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), a collegiate tennis player may accept not more than $10,000 in prize money per calendar year. The athlete may, however, receive additional prize money to cover the necessary expenses for each tournament thereafter.

This is not the first time that a tennis player has had to forgo their prize money due to NCAA restrictions. At the 2023 US Open, Fiona Crawley, who plays college tennis for the University of North Carolina, was awarded a qualifying wild card. The American progressed to the main draw, where she was defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the opener. She, however, couldn't collect the $81,000 in prize money she earned at the Major due to NCAA rules.

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Joao Fonseca on potentially attending university despite Rio Open success: "Most parents say, 'Come on, you're going to make money'"

Joao Fonseca pictured at the 2023 US Open

At 17 years old, Joao Fonseca has already earned several accolades, which include clinching the 2023 US Open boys’ title, and being the 2023 world champion in juniors.

The Brazilian has also secured a sponsorship deal with Roger Federer-backed On. The brand also represents the likes of World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and 2023 US Open semifinalist Ben Shelton. As per reports, Joao Fonseca has also been offered several other lucrative deals following his success at the Rio Open.

However, in a recent interview with UOL, Fonseca maintained that he would be leaving his options open in regard to his university enrolment, despite his recent on-court success. He also shed light on the conversation he had with his parents on the matter.

"My parents were always very open with me. We decided on the university thing in October last year, together. ‘It's an option, you don't have to go.’ They encouraged me a lot, and I really liked that," he told UOL.

The World No. 343 also noted that his parents didn’t push him to pursue tennis professionally.

"They didn't talk about how... Most parents of athletes who achieve this type of result say, ‘come on, you're going to be a professional, you're going to make money, you're going to be number 1 in the world’ and so on. Mine had their feet on the ground. They said, ‘leave this option, we don't know what will happen. If you are 100 in the world, go to the pros. Make that money. You are focused. You have a future, but you have your feet on the ground.’"

"University is an option. I've seen a graph that shows that most athletes who reach the top 100 arrive at 26-27 years old. So there's still time for you to go to university," he added.