Moïse Kouamé's remarkable debut at Roland-Garros ended in the third round when Chilean Alejandro Tabilo defeated the 17-year-old French wild card 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(9) on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Saturday evening. Kouamé saved four match points in the deciding tiebreak before succumbing on the fifth, with the breaker finishing 11-9 in Tabilo's favour.
How Kouamé's run unfolded
Kouamé had navigated past Marin Cilic in the first round and survived a five-hour, two-point-from-defeat marathon against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the second round. The teenager's accumulated court time—more than eight hours across his three matches—contrasted sharply with Tabilo's relatively fresh state. According to Tennis Majors, Tabilo had spent only one hour and 53 minutes on a Roland-Garros court before facing Kouamé, having benefited from Valentin Vacherot's foot-injury withdrawal in the second round.
Why the gap widened in the third round
Tabilo's serve proved decisive in the closing stages. The Chilean ranked No. 36 won 76 per cent of his first-serve points to Kouamé's 69 per cent and 55 per cent of his second-serve points to the teenager's 46 per cent. Tabilo converted five of 17 break-point chances; Kouamé converted four of 10. The Frenchman also finished with 11 double faults compared to Tabilo's three, though both players held firm on critical points—Tabilo saved six of 10 break points and Kouamé saved 12 of 17.
French men's draw now empty
Kouamé's exit marks the end of French representation in the men's singles draw. With his loss and Quentin Halys's defeat to Alexander Zverev on Friday, no French man will compete in the second week of Roland-Garros for the second consecutive year.
What comes next for Tabilo
Tabilo reaches the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time. He will face the winner of the match between Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassime, the fourth seed, and American 31st seed Brandon Nakashima. That section of the draw has been depleted of most top seeds.
Sources
- Tennis Majors: Kouame's fairytale ends in four sets against Tabilo. Published 2026-05-30.
Reported from public sources.