Teenager Kouame Becomes Youngest Male Grand Slam Match-Winner in 17 Years
- On Tuesday, French teenager Moise Kouame announced himself on the Grand Slam stage in emphatic fashion, defeating former U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6 6-2 6-1 at Roland Garros to become the youngest man to win a major main-draw match in 17 years.
- Kouame's breakthrough run caps a rapid rise this season, winning his first tour-level match at the Miami Open in March, becoming the youngest man to win a Masters match since Rafael Nadal in 2003, then practicing with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner at Monte Carlo in April.
- At 17 years and two months old, Kouame is now the youngest man to reach the second round of Roland Garros since Romania's Dinu Pescariu in 1991, and according to Opta, the youngest player in the Open era to defeat a former Grand Slam champion at Roland Garros.
- Kouame will face Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round after 20th seed Cameron Norrie retired injured. The teenager credited his success to mental composure: "I always try to stay in the present moment and not think too much about the score."
- Coached by France's former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet, the Paris-born Kouame's emergence signals a changing of the guard in French tennis, arriving just a night after Gael Monfils departed Roland Garros; the teenager reflected "It's a lot of emotion, it's exceptional.
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On 26 May, Moïse Kouamé won the best victory of his young career, winning veteran Marin Cilic (7-6, 6-2, 6-1) on the first round of Roland-Garros 2026. This success confirms the Frenchman's progress since the beginning of the season. An opportunity to discover this new tricolor talent. - Roland-Garros: five things to know about Moïse Kouamé, the new hope of French tennis, winner of his first round (Sports).
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After the exploit of Moïse Kouame, who won his first game in the Grand Slam at the age of 17, Loïs Boisson, semi-finalist last year, was released on Tuesday under the heat of Paris, like Corentin Moutet. Clément Tabur was defeated by the world number, Jannik Sinner, in "night session"...relive the third day and end of the first round at Roland-Garros.
"I always try to stay in the moment and not think about the result. Today I managed to do that," said young Frenchman Moise Kouame after his victory over Marin Čilić.
French teenager becomes youngest male Grand Slam match-winner in 17 years
French Open: Wildcard teenager Moise Kouame stunned former champion Marin Cilic on his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros. The straight-sets win underlined a rapid rise and delivered a rare age-record breakthrough.
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