The newest star in tennis has broken a record set by Emma Raducanu following her incredible win at the 2021 US Open. Despite her struggles since, Raducanu’s very own ‘Fairytale of New York’ remains an iconic achievement, the Brit becoming the first player in history to win a Grand Slam tournament.
She also became the first female from the UK to claim a Slam title since Virginia Wade in 1977. However, as well as records on the court, Raducanu set new markers off it, not least of all when it came to social media. Just days after her surreal victory at Flushing Meadows, her Instagram following soared as she enjoyed sudden superstardom.
Although the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams had reached a million followers long before she was on the scene, Raducanu became the youngest tennis professional to break that barrier. At the time, she was aged 18 years and 10 months.
However, Joao Fonseca has shattered that record following his breakthrough season. The Brazilian wonderkid has risen to No.59 in the rankings and won his first ATP 250 title at the Argentina Open in February.
Fonseca was just 18 years and seven months old when he hit the magic number. That’s some three months before Raducanu made it to a million, and it follows a glowing endorsement from Djokovic.
Speaking at the Miami Open, where Fonseca reached the last 32 before a narrow defeat to Alex De Minaur, the Serbian praised the Brazilian No.1 and claimed that Fonseca had become a major topic of discussion among his fellow professionals.
“He’s been the talk of the tour in the last several months,” said the all-time great. “I mean, deservedly so. He’s a very good tennis player. I mean, so young. Just incredible firepower from both ends of the baseline, serve [as well]. He’s a very complete player.”
Djokovic boasts 16 million followers on Instagram. However, his own race to a million can’t be measured alongside Fonseca’s given he was already 26 when he signed up to the platform.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk