At 30 years old, Fernando Romboli had to answer the question every entrepreneur knows well: to persist, pivot, or exit a market. In his case, the market was professional tennis.
The decision involved not only dreams or vocation, but also cost, expected return, and an understanding of the situation. Seven years later, the result of that choice placed him at the top of the Brazilian doubles ranking and at the peak of his career, at age 37.
This week, he makes his debut alongside fellow Brazilian Marcelo Melo at the Australian Open, one of the four major tennis tournaments in the world, along with Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, as the 39th best doubles player in the world.
Romboli didn't decide to switch from singles to doubles after a major defeat or in the midst of an emotional crisis. He had been flirting with the top 200 in the rankings for years, competing in Grand Slam qualifiers and challenger tournaments at a time when Roger Federer , Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were rising and establishing themselves as the GOATs (Greatest of All Time) of the sport.
But there was a structural problem that affected the tennis players' scoring system. "There was a rule change by the ATP [Association of Tennis Professionals] that, in practice, took away my opportunity to continue playing singles," he says in an interview with NeoFeed from Australia.
With a ranking close to 500 in singles - his best ranking was 236, in June 2011 - and around 190 in doubles, he had to choose between dropping back down to smaller tournaments, with high costs and little return, or concentrating his energy where there was still room to grow.
In tennis, as in business, there are invisible levels. Below a certain level, the effort increases exponentially while the financial and competitive return decreases.
“To continue playing simple, I would have to invest a lot more money. I knew that, at that moment, it didn’t make sense,” says Romboli.
While many consider giving up on high-performance sports, Romboli had the maturity to adjust "his business." He began dedicating himself exclusively to doubles, not as a plan B for his career, but as a strategy.
Matter of survival
In the professional circuit, doubles has its own logic. Unlike the singles ranking, being among the top 100 does not guarantee access to the biggest tournaments.
"In doubles, the equivalent of being in the top 100 in singles is being in the top 70," he says.
Hovering between positions 80 and 120 in the world rankings, Romboli spent several years unable to break through the bubble. His persistence, however, continued.
"It wasn't an emotional decision. I knew I was well-placed in the duo and that there was a viable path forward."
This clarity proved essential. In 2025, he broke through the barrier: a semifinal appearance at the Indian Wells Masters 1000, a title at the Houston ATP tournament (alongside Australian John Patrick Smith), and solid runs at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The rankings responded, and he reached his peak precisely during his prime.
"Nowadays, age has changed. There are many players over 40 at the top of the doubles scene. The game is much more mental, more about decision-making," he says.
Invisible cost
Behind this journey, there's a cost that's not visible to those who only watch tennis on TV. The tennis player doesn't receive a salary; they are an investor. Flights, hotels, coaching staff, food—everything comes out of the athlete's own pocket. And the prize money often only covers these costs.
“A challenger player rarely loses money, but breaks even,” says Romboli. “You invest hoping to break through a barrier. If you don’t break through, you fall by the wayside.”
Now at the top of the rankings, the Brazilian tennis player is sponsored by the sportswear brand Live!, iFood Benefícios, and the software company Prognum. Before that, however, he made another unconventional decision.
To continue competing, Romboli had to become an entrepreneur and created 3F Travel, a travel agency that started through word of mouth and grew without social media. "I sponsored myself," he says.
The business provided him with the financial security to continue on the circuit when he lacked sponsors. It also presented new challenges, such as dividing his time between training and managing the company.
"Sometimes I would skip training to deal with problems. But without that, I might not even be playing," he says.
At 37, Romboli is experiencing the best moment of his career. And he sees no contradiction in that. In tennis, especially in doubles, winning isn't about playing better all the time, but about playing better on the decisive points.
This perspective also extends beyond the court. He acknowledges the limitations in visibility faced by the pair, particularly the difficulty in attracting major sponsors.
Even so, he remains ambitious. He wants to reach the top 30, the top 20, the top 10. Not out of vanity, but because he knows there's still room for growth.
Romboli's trajectory also helps to tell the recent history of Brazilian tennis. He started playing as a child, driven by the so-called Guga Mania in the late 1990s, when Gustavo Kuerten was putting Brazil at the top of the world sport.
Two decades later, he reaches the peak of his career in a new cycle, marked by the consolidation of Bia Haddad Maia on the women's circuit and the meteoric rise of João Fonseca , who is considered the great promise of the new Brazilian generation. Between one moment and the other, Brazilian tennis changed, and Romboli changed with it.
