Joao Fonseca, who suffered consecutive early-round exits at the Madrid and Italian Opens, has now added another layer of concern to his clay-court swing. He will not be playing at the Hamburg Open, which starts next week, and the timing is inauspicious. He felt pain upon arriving in Germany and decided to pull out of the ATP 500 event as a precaution ahead of the biggest clay-court challenge of the season.
The Brazilian was supposed to play German wildcard Yannick Hanfmann on Monday. Now, Hafmann will play a lucky loser.
Fonseca took to Instagram to break the news himself. “Hey, everyone. Just wanted to let you know that I won’t be able to play at the Hamburg Open this year. I’ve been experiencing some slight discomfort in my right wrist since I arrived. Together with my team, I’ve decided it’s best to withdraw as a precaution. See you all at RG!” he wrote.
While the word “precaution” offers some comfort, the context around it does not. Roland Garros starts on May 24, just a week away. Fonseca’s right wrist is far from a minor concern for a player of his profile. His forehand is already one of the most dangerous weapons on the ATP Tour, and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has been among the few players to publicly praise it. Any restriction on that wrist, no matter how mild it may seem at the moment, strikes at the heart of everything that makes him dangerous on clay.
But for a player who has spent this season proving himself at the top level, going into the French Open with an injury is a risk he simply cannot afford, especially at a tournament where he has the chance to make an even bigger name for himself.
The 2026 season has tested Fonseca’s resilience more than most anticipated for a teenager ranked in the top 30. He withdrew from Brisbane and Adelaide at the start of the year with a back injury, lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Eliot Spizzirri, and then fell in the opening round in Buenos Aires as the defending champion.
The season had since found its footing. The 19-year-old showed itself in the two tiebreaks with Jannik Sinner at Indian Wells, won a set in Monte Carlo against Alexander Zverev, and took a set in Munich over Ben Shelton. Hamburg was meant to be a chance to fire some serious shots before Paris. Instead, he departs Hamburg before hitting a ball in competition.
Fonseca advanced to the third round at last year’s Roland Garros in a respectable tournament debut. He defeated 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets before similarly overcoming wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert. His run eventually came to an end against fifth seed Jack Draper in the round of 32.
This year, however, the stakes are much higher. Fonseca has already established himself on the tour by winning two ATP titles and breaking into the world’s top 25. Arriving at Roland Garros without match practice on clay and with a wrist issue serious enough to require a precautionary withdrawal is far from the ideal preparation for the moment his season has been building toward.
Hamburg loses more marquee names ahead of Roland Garros
Joao Fonseca is not the only star absentee from Hamburg. Zverev, the tournament’s most successful current player (17-7) in Hamburg, also pulled out due to back issues that have plagued him throughout the clay season. He had already suffered an early exit in Rome, where he fell to Luciano Darderi in the round of 16, and his doctors had recommended that he not play in Hamburg to preserve his Roland Garros chances.
“I always tried everything possible to be able to compete in the tournament and even played through injury at times, but this time I have to listen to my body,” Zverev wrote on social media.
Another major setback was the withdrawal of the former world No. 4, Holger Rune. He was initially on the entry list of the event to make his comeback after the Achilles tendon injury. However, he has confirmed that he will be skipping the rest of the clay swing, which means missing Paris as well, as he wants to be fully fit before stepping back onto the court.
Hamburg is now left with a depleted draw for an ATP 500 tournament that comes during one of the busiest stretches of the tennis calendar, sandwiched between the Italian Open and Roland Garros, while also trying to maintain its relevance ahead of the year’s second Grand Slam.
Players usually treat the tournament as preparation for Paris, but those who have already had enough match practice during the clay swing will now look to preserve themselves for the ultimate challenge on the surface.
Both Fonseca and Zverev are in a similar situation. Hamburg is important, but Paris matters more. The German reached the Roland Garros final once in 2024 before losing to Alcaraz, and this year could represent his best chance yet to finally break through, especially with the Spaniard withdrawing due to a right wrist injury he suffered in Barcelona.
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