João Fonseca’s run at the 2026 Madrid Open ended in the third round when he lost to Wild Card Rafael Jódar. Following his defeat to the Spaniard, Fonseca was seen smashing his racket on the court in frustration over his loss.
Leading up to the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Spain, Fonseca participated in two clay-court tournaments: the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters and the BMW Open. He reached the quarterfinals in both events and was eliminated by Alexander Zverev and the eventual champion, Ben Shelton, respectively.
João Fonseca Smashes Racket After Madrid Open Loss to Rafael Jódar
Fonseca was seeded 27th at the 2026 Madrid Open and began his campaign in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. He advanced to the third round when his opening-round opponent, Marin Čilić, withdrew from the tournament due to food poisoning.
In the third round, the former world No. 24 faced Jódar and lost the first set 6-7 (4) but staged a comeback to win the second set 6-4. However, the Spaniard kept his composure and won the final set, ultimately taking the match with a scoreline of 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-1. After his loss, before the customary handshake at the net, Fonseca was seen expressing his frustration by smashing his racket on the court.
Fonseca’s racket is GONE 👀 pic.twitter.com/MgyhP7dX8c
— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) April 26, 2026
Next, Jódar will face Vít Kopřiva in the fourth round of the 2026 Madrid Open. The Czech secured his place in the fourth round by defeating Zhang Zhizhen (6-2, 6-0) in the first round and overcoming ninth seed Andrey Rublev (6-3, 6-4) and 22nd seed Arthur Rinderknech (6-4, 3-6, 0-0 retd.) in the second and third rounds, respectively.
Jódar and Kopřiva have never faced each other on the ATP Tour; thus, their upcoming fourth-round match in Spain will mark the first encounter between these two players. The winner of this match will advance to face either top seed Jannik Sinner or 19th seed Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals.
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Looking ahead, Fonseca is expected to compete at the 2026 Italian Open, which is scheduled to take place from May 6 to May 17. The matches of the tournament will be played on the outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome.
In addition to the former world No. 24, players such as Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Félix Auger-Aliassime, and former champions like Zverev and Novak Djokovic, among others, are also expected to compete at the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court tournament in Rome.
