Moise Kouame made history after just one match in his first Grand Slam tournament. With a 7-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Marin Cilic on Tuesday, Kouame became the youngest player to win a French Open match in more than 30 years.
Kouame, 17, hit six aces in his victory over 37-year-old Cilic, a former US Open champion.
With this feat, Kouame became the youngest man to reach the second round at Roland Garros since Dinu Pescariou achieved the feat in 1991 at the age of 17. Extending Kouame’s achievement to all Grand Slams, he becomes the youngest man to reach the second round at a Grand Slam since 2009, when 16-year-old Bernard Tomic reached the second round at the Australian Open.
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Both Pescaliu and Tomic were unable to maintain their momentum, losing in the second round of these events.
Kouame, who was born in France in 2009, previously played in the qualifying rounds for the 2025 French Open, but failed to qualify. He has earned a wild card for the 2026 tournament and is already making headlines for winning his first Grand Slam.
Deploying Cilic will not be an easy task. In addition to winning the US Open in 2014, Cilic has reached the finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon during his career. In the past, he also reached the semi-finals of the French Open.
The win advances Kouame to the second round of the French Open, where he will face the winner of Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who defeated Cameron Norrie 7-6, 2-0 by default.
