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World no 318’s victory over Marin Cilic also made him the youngest man to win a Grand Slam in 17 years.
Updated on May 27, 2026
Roland Garros may have seen the birth of a new tennis megastar this week in local teenager Moise Kouame he took a great victory at the French Open to become the last man to win a major in 17 years.
17 years and two months old, Kouame defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4) 6-2 6-1, raising his hands and dropping his head as the home crowd on Court Simonne-Mathieu applauded his performance.
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The victory made him the youngest player to win a single Grand Slam match since Bernard Tomic of Australia reached the second round of the 2009 Australian Open at the age of 16. Kouame is the youngest player to register his first win at the French Open since Romania’s Dinu Pescariu in 1991.
He also became the first teenager to defeat a major champion in his first Grand Slam match since Marat Safin defeated Andre Agassi at Roland Garros in 1998.
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What was Moise Kouame like?
Born in 2009 in the Parisian neighborhood of Sarcelles, Kouame is of Ivorian-Cameroonian descent. His mother, who was “always a big influence”, was his first teacher and now runs his career.
Kouame started playing tennis at the age of six, inspired by his older brother, Michael, and trained at the National Tennis Center in Poitiers. He is now coached by former world number 7 partner Richard Gasquet, and reports suggest he added Laurent Raymond to his team earlier this year.
What is the game like?
The 6 and 3 inch tall Frenchman (1.91 meters) has a strong and dominant presence and likes to play in any position, which matches his nickname “KTT” – which means “Kouame everywhere”.
Was the French Open his first career win?
Yes, unless he wins his second Roland Garros match against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay on Thursday.
The Frenchman has won three ITF titles – the third in professional tennis – and received several wild cards at the main stage, including the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters and the Miami Open, where he beat Zachary Svajda of the US to become the youngest singles winner in the event’s history.
What did Kouame say about his historic victory?
“It’s very touching, it’s special,” Kouame said. “Coming into this competition, I didn’t know what to expect.
The teenager cited his experiences in Miami and Monte-Carlo as helping him in Tuesday’s victory. “Technically, I felt calm. I knew I was ready and I felt good mentally and physically.”
In a post on Instagram, Kouame thanked everyone who took part in his journey, adding that their success made it even more special.
The teenager also gave up his age against Cilic, who is 20 years older. “I didn’t care about his age, I just wanted to shoot him hard to play.”
“So for some, age may play a part, but as far as I know, I tried to concentrate and not think about that, because in the end, when you’re on the court, you don’t think about your age or what you’re going to eat. You think about what you have to do to win.”
What’s next for the 17-year-old?
Although Kouame probably did not expect his second French Open match against Vallejo, he played doubles with Giovanni Mpetshi Perrica against the US pair Robert Cash and James Tracy, who defeated the French 6-4 1-6 6-4.
Kouame and current French no 2 Elsa Jacquemot will be joined by Christian Harrison of the US and Fanny Stollar of Hungary.
