Stan Wawrinka made a career out of smashing the glass ceiling of tennis when he was not expected to do so.

The Swiss star had the unfortunate luck of being at the peak of his powers during the height of the Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal dominance.

He did not let that stop him, however, as he still managed to end his career with three Grand Slam titles, all of which involved beating one of the ‘big three’ in the final.

After bringing his career to an end in 2026, Wawrinka has revealed who he expects to break this generations glass ceiling and challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

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In an interview with La Gazzetta, Wawrinka heaped praise on Joao Fonseca when asked who could challenge the ATP Tour’s very best.

“Joao Fonseca has something special: his power, his personality, the way he knows how to enjoy the big stage,” said Wawrinka of the young Brazilian.

“As for me, I see myself more in those players who mature late, who play powerful and aggressive tennis. It’s not written anywhere that you have to be a champion at 20. Sometimes it takes time to gain self-confidence, and that was the case for me too.”

Fonseca currently sits at world No 46 after an injury-riddled end to the 2026 season, but he has shown real signs of promise this year.

The Brazilian reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal this year at Roland Garros, which included high-profile victories against Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud.

He also has two ATP Tour titles to his name already impressively, after winning the Argentina Open and the Swiss Indoors during the 2025 season.

He has his first taste of playing both Sinner and Alcaraz this year too, although neither match went to plan for the Brazilian.

Alcaraz defeated Fonseca in straight sets in the second round of the Miami Open, while Sinner achieved the same scoreline in the round of 16 at Indian Wells.

Fonseca will get another crack at the Spaniard, however, before the 2026 season culminates, as the pair are set to play their second exhibition match in a year.

The two men are set to play an exhibition match in Brazil on December 12th after the pair met for the first time at an exhibition in Miami at the backend of the 2025 season.

Alcaraz won that match too, by a scoreline of 7-5, 2-6, 10-8, so the Brazilian will be hoping to end his losing streak against the world No 2 on home soil during the off-season.