French Teen Kouame Joins Teen Trio in Roland Garros Third Round

Kouame makes history

The 17-year-old French wildcard saved match point and won 7-6(8) in the fifth to make Roland Garros history on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Kouame, Jodar and Fonseca are the first trio of teenagers in the men’s third round at Roland Garros since Nadal, Djokovic and Monfils in 2006...

French wildcard Moise Kouame became the youngest man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Rafael Nadal 23 years ago, after a marathon win at Roland Garros on Thursday.

The 17-year-old outlasted Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(8) in a five-set thriller that lasted 4 hours 56 minutes. The home crowd on a scorching Court Suzanne Lenglen rode every point as Kouame held off Vallejo’s comeback.

MOISE. KOUAME. 🗣️

Teenage sensation Moise Kouame battles past Vallejo in 5 sets to reach R3 in his first Grand Slam main draw appearance 🇫🇷#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/sM07HfsslC

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 28, 2026

At 17, Kouame is the youngest male player to make it to the round of 32 at a major since Nadal did it at Wimbledon in 2003.

“Frankly, without you, I would never have won this match, never,” Kouame said to the crowd during his on-court interview, crediting their support for the win.

With Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca also advancing on Wednesday, it’s the first time three teenagers have reached the third round of the men’s singles at Roland Garros since Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Gael Monfils did it in 2006.

2 - Moise Kouame is the second-youngest player to reach his maiden Men’s Singles Grand Slam Third Round this Century, older only than Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon 2003. Dream.#RolandGarros | @rolandgarros @atptour pic.twitter.com/LVmTrZuweB

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 28, 2026

Kouame had already made history in the first round by beating Marin Cilic, becoming the youngest man to win a Grand Slam match in 17 years.

Playing his first Grand Slam, Kouame raced to a two-set lead and had the French crowd roaring, but the intense heat started to take its toll.

Down 5-3 in the fifth with Vallejo serving for the match, Kouame clawed his way back from the brink and closed out a memorable win in a tense tie-break.