João Fonseca's journey at Roland Garros ended in the quarterfinals, but the Brazilian's impact went far beyond the tennis courts. The match against Czech player Jakub Mensik, played this Tuesday (2), went down in history as the most watched tennis game on pay TV in Brazil since the beginning of the sector's measurement, in 1991.
Even with the 3-0 set defeat, the 19-year-old once again mobilized millions of Brazilians in front of their televisions and consolidated his status as the main recent phenomenon in national tennis.
According to Ibope data published by the Outro Canal column, from FSPThe broadcast on ESPN 2 registered an average audience rating of 1,2 points on the National Television Panel (PNT), with a peak of 2 points during the broadcast.
Record surpasses duel against Djokovic
This achievement is even more significant because it surpasses a record that João Fonseca himself had set just a few days earlier.
Last Friday (29), the Brazilian's victory over Novak Djokovic had already become the most watched tennis match in the history of Brazilian pay TV. Now, the match against Mensik has surpassed that mark and set a new record.
The result highlights the growing public interest in tennis and the impact that João Fonseca's campaign had during the tournament held in Paris.
Leadership in pay TV
The match was broadcast between 15:15 PM and 18:40 PM on ESPN 2, with commentary by Renan do Couto, and led the audience ratings among all pay-TV channels during that period.
In addition to the television broadcast, the match was also available on Disney+, expanding coverage to streaming audiences.
According to the methodology of the National Television Panel, each audience rating point represents approximately 125 viewers in the 15 main TV markets in the country.
Historic campaign in Paris
On the court, João Fonseca was defeated by Jakub Mensik 6/4, 6/3, 7/6 in a match that lasted two hours and 44 minutes.
The Brazilian struggled against the opponent's consistency and was unable to replicate the performance he had shown in previous rounds. Even so, the campaign marked the best result of his career in Grand Slam tournaments.
João's journey to the quarterfinals placed him among the top performers in the competition and reinforced expectations surrounding the future of the tennis player, considered one of the greatest promises in world sport.
A phenomenon that goes beyond the courts.
More than the sporting results, the audience numbers show João Fonseca's ability to attract new audiences to tennis. In a sport traditionally far from the largest television audiences in Brazil, the young man managed to mobilize viewers, generate buzz on social media, and transform his matches into events of national reach.
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