French teen Kouame reaches French Open third round in five-set thriller

28 May 2026, 15:16 · CNA · Join

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 28, 2026 France's Moise Kouame celebrates winning the second set during his second round match against Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 28, 2026 France's Moise Kouame in action during his second round match against Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 28, 2026 Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in action during his second round match against France's Moise Kouame REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 28, 2026 France's Moise Kouame in action during his second round match against Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 28, 2026 Paraguay's Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in action during his second round match against France's Moise Kouame REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

(Refiles amending day in paragraph one)

PARIS, May 28 : French 17-year-old Moise Kouame became the fifth-youngest man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam, defeating Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3 7-5 3-6 2-6 7-6(8) in a gripping French Open clash lasting nearly five hours on Thursday.

Kouame, ranked 318th in the world and playing in his first Grand Slam courtesy of a wildcard, displayed remarkable composure and resilience to claim the first five-set victory of his fledgling career.

After racing to a two-set lead, Kouame was pegged back as Vallejo launched a fightback, taking the third and fourth sets to set up a decider. The young Frenchman held his nerve and broke back late in the final set.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

"Without you I would never have made it," Kouame told the jubilant French crowd, who had been roaring him on throughout. He sealed the win on his first match point with a daring serve-and-volley in the super tie-break, delighting fans on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Kouame is the fifth-youngest player to make it to the third round at Roland Garros since the Open Era began in 1968. The youngest remains American Michael Chang, who achieved the feat aged 16 in 1988.

Kouame will face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, the world number 36, in the next round.

French teen Kouame reaches French Open third round in five-set thriller

Recommended Read

Sign up for our newsletters

Get the CNA app