A historic moment at Roland Garros 2026

By the third round of Roland Garros 2026, with most of the home players having been eliminated, French tennis unexpectedly found a new hope in Moise Kouame.

A breath of fresh air for French tennis fans.

At the age of 17, the young French talent wrote a fairytale story right on the world's most prestigious clay court.

Kouame made history as the fifth youngest player to reach the third round of Roland Garros, the youngest since Michael Chang (1988), and the youngest player to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003.

For many years, the performance of French players at Roland Garros has often been disappointing. More than four decades since Yannick Noah's victory, France has yet to find a worthy successor. However, the emergence of Kouame brings a breath of fresh air to fans in Paris in particular, and French tennis in general.

Born in Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris, Kouame started playing tennis at the age of six and showed early talent. He trained at the French National Tennis Center, then further honed his skills at the academies of Justine Henin and Patrick Mouratoglou. Currently, Kouame is coached by former world number 7 Richard Gasquet and Liam Smith.

Making his debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, Kouame wasn't just there to learn. The 17-year-old talent successively defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to reach the third round. This also marks the first time since 1991 that Roland Garros has seen a 17-year-old win so many matches in the main draw.

Kouame's impressive performance helped him climb 108 places in the ATP rankings, from 318th to 210th in the world – his highest career ranking, as of May 30th.

Kouame's success didn't come from luck. Before Roland Garros, he had a streak of 10 consecutive wins on the ITF system, won his first ATP Challenger title, and became the youngest player in history to win a match at the Miami Open, receiving congratulations from Djokovic. Experiences at Masters 1000 tournaments and training opportunities with Jannik Sinner helped the young player mature quickly.

Following his five-set victory in the second round, Kouame said he learned a great deal from Carlos Alcaraz's comeback in a Grand Slam final last year.

In the third round, Kouame faced a major challenge in Alejandro Tabilo (ranked 36th). His dream was to win his home tournament, conquer all four Grand Slams, and one day reach the world number one ranking.

Besides the phenomenon named Kouame, Roland Garros 2026 also witnessed many upsets as title contenders like Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic were eliminated early. This was also the first time in many years that the tournament did not have any defending champions in the fourth round.

Moise Kouame with fans after his victory in the second round. Photo: AP

A great opportunity for Zverev.

Among the top 10 ATP players, only Alexander Zverev (ranked 3rd) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (ranked 6th) remain at Roland Garros. Meanwhile, the Next Gen generation is making a strong impression with Joao Fonseca (Brazil) and Rafael Jodar (Spain). Fonseca made a big splash by eliminating Djokovic in five sets in the third round on the morning of May 30th.

Since Djokovic's 2023 US Open victory, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated men's tennis with nine consecutive Grand Slam titles. However, Alcaraz was absent from Roland Garros due to injury, while Sinner was eliminated in the second round.

The simultaneous exit of top contenders opens up a great opportunity for Zverev in his quest to conquer his first Grand Slam. The German player's most formidable opponent at this point could be Casper Ruud, ranked 16th in the world.

Notably, among the remaining players, only Zverev and Ruud have ever reached a Grand Slam final. Both have finished runner-up three times and now have a rare opportunity to realize their dream of winning the title in Paris.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-khac-lich-su-cua-roland-garros-2026-196260530211501528.htm