Acclaimed tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has hailed rising stars Victoria Mboko and Joao Fonseca as the \u201cfuture of tennis\u201d ahead of the upcoming 2026 season.<\/p>\n
Several tennis players sealed huge breakthroughs across a memorable 2025 campaign, though Mboko<\/a> and Fonseca<\/a> ultimately proved to be two of the most-improved players of the year.<\/p>\n WTA star Mboko was ranked outside the top 300 at the start of the year, but then surged up the rankings in the opening months of the season, winning a string of ITF Tour events.<\/p>\n The Canadian then reached round three of the French Open as a qualifier<\/a> before embarking on a stunning run at her home WTA 1000 event, beating four Grand Slam champions on her way to the title<\/a>.<\/p>\n After a brief dip in form, the 19-year-old wrapped up her season by winning a second WTA title in Hong Kong<\/a>, ending the year ranked 18th in the world.<\/p>\n ATP Tour ace Fonseca also captured two tour-level titles in 2025, starting with victory at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires in February<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 19-year-old then won his first ATP 500 title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel<\/a>, and finished the year ranked 24th in the world \u2014 having begun the season outside of the top 40.<\/p>\n Fonseca made his Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in January and would ultimately win at least one match at all four majors in 2025.<\/p>\n Tennis News<\/p>\n Serena Williams\u2019 touching tribute to Venus as stunning wedding photos emerge<\/a><\/p>\n ATP Rankings: 5 tennis stars who could make their top-10 debuts in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking in an Instagram post this week, Mouratoglou<\/a> \u2014 best known for his work with Serena Williams \u2014 hailed both Mboko and Fonseca\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n \u201cThe rise of Fonseca and Mboko \u2014 those two players are the future of tennis,\u201d said Mouratoglou.<\/p>\n \u201cI will start with Victoria Mboko. She\u2019s Canadian, she\u2019s played an incredible season, she was out of the top 100, she killed it this year.<\/p>\n \u201cShe won a Masters [WTA] 1000. She had some downs after that because suddenly the pressure became too high \u2014 she arrived like a bomb in the tennis world, the WTA world.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of her game, her physical assets, her personality. I mean, she has a whole package, and she\u2019s definitely the future of tennis. I\u2019m super happy to see her coming up so fast.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, I want to say the same for Joao Fonseca from Brazil.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, he continued to rise. He had also some ups and downs. He also experiences crazy pressure; you can imagine how much the Brazilian fans are behind him, which is positive, but also a lot of responsibility for such a young guy.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look, his ranking year after year, it\u2019s going like a bomb. He\u2019s the future of men\u2019s tennis, he\u2019s potentially someone who in the next years \u2014 probably not next year \u2014 but in the next years, compete with Alcaraz and Sinner, because he has everything for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside of their success on court, both Mboko and Fonseca generated strong followings across 2025 and look set to become stars on and off the court in the years to come.<\/p>\n And, Mouratoglou believes both rising stars could ultimately develop \u201cicon\u201d status within the sport throughout their careers.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cAnd I love both Mboko and Fonseca, on and off the court.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the court, because of the tennis they play, their potential, their physical assets. They have the full package and, of course, the mental side.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I say off the court, I mean it\u2019s on the court, but it\u2019s not purely tennis. It\u2019s the ability to bring everyone with them. They both already have so many fans, and I feel she [Mboko] can do something big for tennis, potentially an icon.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd, I say the same for Joao Fonseca. He already has so many fans, that\u2019s a joke. Wherever he plays, you have an incredible Brazilian crowd. A lot of guys follow him on tour already.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot wait to see them at the highest level, but they\u2019re on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites<\/a> list for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n