Moise Kouame is through to the quarter-final of the home Lille Challenger.
The 16-year-old defeated Joel Schwaerzler 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes and wrote more history.
Ice cool KOUAME 🧊👌
The 16-year-old rolls on to his first-ever #ATPChallenger quarter-final! pic.twitter.com/my0hD0TrSS
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) February 19, 2026
Kouame became the first player born in 2009 in the Challenger quarter-final, extending his incredible start to the season and moving closer to a place in the top-400. The young gun dominated behind the first serve.
He faced no break points and kept the pressure on the other side. The Austrian lost 39% of the points in his games and got broken two times from five chances presented to the 16-year-old.
Moise closed the first game of the duel with a crafty volley winner and drew the rival's mistake two games later for 2-1. Schwaerzler faced two break points in the fourth game and denied them with fine hitting before holding for 2-2.
A teenager made another push on the return at 3-2 and painted a backhand crosscourt winner for a break chance. The home favorite broke a left-hander with a forced error, moving 4-2 up and gaining a boost.
Moise Kouame, Lille 2026© Facebook – Play in Challenger Lille
Kouame cemented the lead with a hold at love in game seven after an ace and held at love at 5-3 with a forehand winner to close the first part of the duel in 36 minutes.
The Austrian missed a volley in the first game of the second set and experienced another break. The Frenchman cemented the lead with a volley winner in game two and held at love two games later with a service winner for 3-1.
The 16-year-old painted a forehand crosscourt winner in the sixth game, playing beautiful tennis and controlling the scoreboard. Joel faced a break point in game seven and saved it with a volley winner before holding for 3-4.
Moise provided another hold at love in game eight with a forced error and served for the win at 5-4. A teenager sealed the deal with a forehand winner, moving over the top and becoming the first player of his generation in the Challenger quarter-final.
