French Open 2026: French teen Moise Kouame becomes first man born in 2008 or later to win Grand Slam match

French teenager Moise Kouame became the youngest male tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles match since 2009 when he beat Croatia’s Marin Čilić at the 2026 French Open on Tuesday (26 May).

Playing in the first Grand Slam of his career as the world No. 318, the 17-year-old shocked 2022 French Open semi-finalist and Olympic silver medallist Čilić, who is 20 years his senior, with a dominant straight-set win.

Kouame needed a tie-break to win the opening set, 7-6(4), but steamrolled through the next sets, 6-2, 6-1, to claim victory in a time of two hours and 38 minutes.

The win makes Kouame the youngest man to win a main-draw match at the French Open since Romania’s Dinu Pescariu won at the 1991 edition of the tournament, aged 17 years and 1 month. Kouame is also the youngest man to win any Grand Slam since Australia’s Bernard Tomic, then aged 16, won at the 2009 Australian Open.

Kouame is not only the first man born in 2008 or later to win a match in a Grand Slam, but also the first born in that timeline to play in the main draw.

Starting the year off as world No. 876, Kouame has broken generational barriers even before stepping on the Court Simonne-Mathieu in Paris.

He won two ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments earlier this year and qualified for the indoor ATP 250 in Montpellier, becoming the sixth-youngest to do so at 16 years and 10 months. In March, he entered the Miami Open as a wildcard and beat the USA’s Zachary Svajda to become the youngest match winner in the event’s history.

Kouame will face Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round of the 2026 French Open on Thursday.

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