{"id":25066,"date":"2026-05-27T01:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/25066\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T01:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:13:20","slug":"french-open-recap-day-3-17-year-old-rising-tennis-star-gives-paris-something-to-cheer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/25066\/","title":{"rendered":"French Open recap Day 3: 17-year-old rising tennis star gives Paris something to cheer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow The Athletic\u2019s French Open coverage<\/a><\/p>\n

Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 3, a 17-year-old local thrilled the Roland Garros crowd, Aryna Sabalenka stuck to her script, and Coco Gauff had an interesting morning.<\/p>\n

How did a 17-year-old talent bring home cheer?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a tough few days for French tennis fans and players at their home Grand Slam.<\/p>\n

They lost their talisman, 39-year-old Ga\u00ebl Monfils<\/a>, who fell in five sets Monday night in his final French Open appearance.<\/p>\n

Their rising star, 21-year-old Arthur Fils<\/a>, withdrew the day before the tournament started with an injury. Fils had to withdraw from last year\u2019s tournament with injury, too, after two thrilling wins.<\/p>\n

Lo\u00efs Bosson<\/a>, 23, last year\u2019s Cinderella story, the wild card who barreled her way onto the semifinals, lost in the first round in the midst of an injury-riddled season.<\/p>\n

Moise Kouam\u00e9 to the rescue.<\/p>\n

Kouam\u00e9, 17, became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam match in 17 years when he knocked off Marin \u010cili\u0107 in straight sets to kick off the day on Court Simonne-Mathieu. His win was close and then not close as all. He edged \u010cili\u0107, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, in a first-set tiebreak, then rolled in a 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-1 win.<\/p>\n

Kouam\u00e9, who hails from Sarcelles, one of Paris\u2019 northern banlieues, was emotional on the court in front of a delirious crowd. He won a tour-level match at the Miami Open in March, but his first major win was a tonic to a tournament in need of some zip \u2014 and some French success. It made him the first male player born in 2009 to win a Grand Slam match.<\/p>\n

Kouam\u00e9, whose coach is Monfils\u2019 contemporary, Richard Gasquet, doesn\u2019t want to stop there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs a good achievement,\u201d he said of the win in his news conference. \u201cOf course the most important is ahead. So now the head is focused on recovering and be ready as much as possible for the next round.\u201d<\/p>\n

He will have a decent shot. He faces Adolfo Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay, the world No. 71, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

France will be watching, and hoping.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

How did Coco Gauff\u2019s day start unexpectedly?<\/p>\n

Coco Gauff opened her title defense with a straightforward 6-4, 6-0 win over her compatriot and friend Taylor Townsend, but her preparation was thrown off course by a very unexpected intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of got in a mini car accident on my way to the site today,\u201d Gauff said, laughing all the while, during an interview with TNT.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this pole thing, and it\u2019s supposed to go down. And the police told him (the driver) to go, and the pole was still there so we ran into it. You felt a little impact. I spilt my juice all over the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gauff explained that the car was no longer roadworthy, so a taxi and tournament car were needed to complete her journey to Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old American, who won last year\u2019s final over Aryna Sabalenka, said it was a \u201cgood omen\u201d for everything to be happening before her first round, including her dress getting stuck just before she went on court, and her needing to store her tennis rackets in a cooler on another scorching day in Paris.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so hot in Paris that even the racquets have to be refrigerated \ud83c\udf21\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/kQWqOi8Vqr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 TNT Sports (@tntsports) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike driving into a Parisian bollard, Gauff\u2019s cooler trick has method to its apparent madness. Heat has not just been affecting tennis players and fans this week; it also affects the court and everything on it. Balls fly faster, because the hotter air gets, the less dense it is. Balls bounce higher, because the pressure inside them increases. And tennis strings, which players have set at a specific tension to balance power and control, get more elastic and trampoline-like. Keeping a racket in a cooler would help slow that process and keep it closer to the tension it started at \u2014 provided it didn\u2019t get too cold.<\/p>\n

The bollard incident was Gauff\u2019s only scrape Tuesday, and she will face Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif in the second round.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

How did Aryna Sabalenka stick to her script?<\/p>\n

For fans of Aryna Sabalenka, Tuesday\u2019s French Open first-round win over J\u00e9ssica Bouzas Maneiro was very familiar.<\/p>\n

There was the patchy first set when a 4-0 lead became 5-4, before the much better second set \u2014 though still with some signs of rust \u2014 and ultimately a straight-sets, if not always straightforward, win.<\/p>\n

Victories like Tuesday\u2019s 6-4, 6-2 success over Bouzas Maneiro have become par for the course for Sabalenka at the slams, normally through the first few rounds, before she then hits her stride in the second week. It\u2019s a sign of her dominance that she can win comfortably when not at her best, even if her third-round Italian Open defeat to Sorana C\u00eerstea <\/a>earlier this month offered a reminder that she doesn\u2019t always escape from tricky assignments.<\/p>\n

\"Aryna<\/p>\n

\n Aryna Sabalenka got through yet another first-round match at a Grand Slam. (James Fearn \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The C\u00eerstea defeat also came after Sabalenka picked up a lower-back and hip problem, which didn\u2019t bother her against Bouzas Maneiro. She said that she was feeling \u201c100 percent\u201d fit in a news conference ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first matches are always the trickiest ones because you\u2019re trying to see where you\u2019re at and trying to get used to conditions and kind of fight the nerves and everything,\u201d Sabalenka said in her post-match news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more I play, the further I get in the tournament, the more comfortable I get, my level becomes better. \u2026 Emotions-wise, the first one is always the tricky one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sabalenka faces French player Elsa Jacquemot in the second round, who is ranked 66 places below her. Don\u2019t expect it to be straightforward. Do expect Sabalenka to come through.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

Other notable results on Day 3:
\nDaniil Medvedev (6) went out in the first round to smooth Jannik Sinner\u2019s draw a little more. He lost to Australia\u2019s Adam Walton 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
\nKimberly Birrell stunned Jessica Pegula (5) of the U.S., coming from a set down to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
\nF\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime (4) survived a major banana peel against Germany\u2019s Daniel Altmaier, triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7).
\nIva Jovi\u0107 (17) won a battle of the besties on Court 14. The fast-rising U.S. teenager beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 6-4, 6-2.
\nShot of the day<\/p>\n

17-year-old Mo\u00efse Kouam\u00e9 wasn\u2019t content with a thrilling, milestone win. He had to produce some defensive magic, too:<\/p>\n

\"\"Drop Shots<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udebf Rafael Nadal used cold showers<\/a> to optimize his preparation. So we tried it.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udeb7 At the French Open, there is a hidden treasure of a tennis court<\/a> in a greenhouse.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd77 Jannik Sinner\u2019s secret weapon is a tactic that sneaks up on his opponents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf21\ufe0f As Roland Garros continues to bake, one player felt like a \u201czombie<\/a>\u201d \u2014 and won.<\/p>\n

Up next: Second round continues<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Caty McNally vs. Belinda Bencic (11)<\/p>\n

5 a.m. on TNT, HBO Max<\/p>\n

Two of the best rally extenders in women\u2019s tennis go head to head on the clay, with McNally\u2019s heavy ball a nice foil to Bencic\u2019s flat, scudding groundstrokes. The hot weather at Roland Garros could do both players a favor \u2014 Bencic\u2019s shots will carry more zip and McNally\u2019s more bounce \u2014 accentuating the contrast in styles and providing what could be a riveting match.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Novak Djokovic (3) vs. Valentin Royer<\/p>\n

10 a.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max<\/p>\n

A tough assignment for Djokovic in every sense. Royer, a front-foot attacking player who is comfortable moving forward and relishes the role of underdog, will have at least some of the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd behind him as the home player. The other factor is the weather. Djokovic has found hot conditions increasingly difficult to manage in recent times and was never a big fan of them even at his peak.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Jasmine Paolini (13) vs. Solana Sierra<\/p>\n

10 a.m. on HBO Max<\/p>\n

Paolini\u2019s dreamlike past two years have taken in two Grand Slam finals, two WTA 1000 titles and a rise into the world\u2019s top five. 2026 has been tougher on the Italian, who has dropped out of the top 10 and gone through a wretched run of form. Sierra, who beat Emma Raducanu in her opening match and took Coco Gauff to three sets at the Italian Open, is a difficult draw \u2014 and an opportunity for Paolini to play herself back into some form.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Jo\u00e3o Fonseca (28) vs. Dino Pri\u017emi\u0107<\/p>\n

10:30 a.m. ET on HBO Max<\/p>\n

A clash between members of the rising generation of men\u2019s players who are fast-usurping their 1990s rivals. Fonseca and Pri\u017emi\u0107 both play with violent power and brute heft; Fonseca has greater deftness, Pri\u017emi\u0107 the better clay-court movement. A fascinating meeting between players attempting to evolve their games in real time.<\/p>\n

French Open women\u2019s draw 2026French Open men\u2019s draw 2026<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the third day\u2026<\/p>\n