EXPLAINERWorld no 318’s victory over Marin Cilic also made him the youngest man to claim a Grand Slam victory in 17 years.Published On 27 May 202627 May 2026Roland Garros might have witnessed the birth of a new tennis megastar this week when local teenager Moise Kouame took a historic victory at the French Open to become the youngest man to win a major main-draw match in 17 years.Aged 17 years and two months, Kouame defeated former US Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4) 6-2 6-1, raising his arms and throwing his head back as the home crowd on Court Simonne-Mathieu applauded his feat.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe victory made him the youngest male player to win a singles Grand Slam match since Australia’s Bernard Tomic reached the 2009 Australian Open second round at the age of 16. Kouame is the youngest player to register a first-round win at the French Open since Dinu Pescariu of Romania in 1991.He also became the first teenager to defeat a major champion in his debut Grand Slam main draw match since Marat Safin defeated Andre Agassi at Roland Garros in 1998.Here’s everything to know about the rising teen sensation.What is Moise Kouame’s personal background?Born in 2009 in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, Kouame is of Ivorian-Cameroonian descent. His mother, who has “always made a big impact”, was his first coach and now manages his career.Kouame began playing tennis aged six, inspired by his older brother, Michael, and trained at the National Tennis Centre in Poitiers. He is now coached by former world no 7 and fellow countryman Richard Gasquet, with reports suggesting that he added Laurent Raymond to his team earlier this year.What is his play …
