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14 Jan, 14:37Updated at: 16:19

Russia's Rublev out at 2025 Australian Open after falling to unseeded Brazilian Fonseca

The Russian has won 16 career ATP singles tournament titles in singles and four more in men’s doubles

SYDNEY, January 14. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev lost in the opening round of the 2025 Australian Open tournament on Tuesday, falling to World No. 112 Joao Fonseca from Brazil in three sets.

In a match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, the 18-year-old unseeded Brazilian player defeated the 9th-seeded Rublev 7-6 (7-1); 6-3; 7-6 (7-5). Fonseca will now play against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, also unseeded, in the next round.

Speaking in an on-court interview after downing Rublev, the Brazilian stayed humble, saying that his play "was not bad."

"I just enjoyed the moment," the tournament’s official website quoted him as saying.

The 2025 Australian Open is Fonseca’s first appearance in a Grand Slam. His match against Rublev was the first time he has ever faced a player ranked in the ATP Top-10.

"This is an amazing court. It’s my first time playing in a huge stadium," the Brazilian tennis player said. "I really want to thank this amazing crowd. There were a lot of Brazilians here cheering for me."

Rublev, 27, plays at international tennis tournaments under a neutral status. He is currently ranked 9th in the ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings.

The Russian has won 16 career ATP singles tournament titles in singles and four more in men’s doubles. He has also appeared in numerous Grand Slam tournaments, albeit never advancing beyond the quarterfinals. Rublev took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

The 2025 Australian Open tournament is being played on hard courts at Melbourne Park on January 12-26 and has a purse of $59.7 million in prize money up for grabs. The season’s first Grand Slam, this year marks the 113th edition of the tournament. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka are the reigning Australian Open champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

However, the Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.

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