LILLE/STARNBERG, February 22, 2026
The Moise Kouame phenomenon came to a halt in the semi-finals of the Play In Challenger Lille, as fellow Frenchman Luca Van Assche proved too strong on Saturday, cruising to a dominant 6–1, 6–1 victory in just over an hour.
It was a tough lesson for the young Parisian, who turns 17 on March 6 and struggled to find any solutions against the relentless Van Assche. Despite the heavy defeat, Kouame leaves Lille with his head held high. In his fourth ATP Challenger Tour main draw appearance, he claimed three straight-set victories and is now set to break into the world’s top 400 for the first time, projected to rise to No. 397 in the next ATP rankings.
For Van Assche, the final in Lille confirms his strong start to the season. Following a quarterfinal run at the Teréga Open Pau-Pyrénées last week and a title in Quimper earlier in February, the 21-year-old continues to build momentum.
Too good @lucavanassche storms past Kouame 6-1, 6-1 to reach the final in Lille #ATPChallenger | @PlayinLille pic.twitter.com/ywS5559UT6
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) February 21, 2026
His journey in Lille, however, was nearly cut short in the opening round. Van Assche had been on the brink of elimination against Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi, trailing by a set and 3–5 before turning the match around. “The first round was incredibly tough. I was two points away from losing,” he admitted. “In every tournament where I’ve gone very far, I’ve always had to come through a difficult match.”
Van Assche will face Belgium’s Alexander Blockx in Sunday’s final. Blockx advanced with a 6–3, 7–6 victory over Switzerland’s Jerome Kym. Although the Belgian is unlikely to enjoy full crowd support in the final, he can expect encouragement from fans who crossed the nearby border, just as they did during his semi-final win.
In doubles, the title went to Filip Pieczonka of Poland and Belarusian Ivan Liutarevich, who defeated Metej Vocel of the Czech Republic and Switzerland’s Jakub Paul 6–4, 3–6, 10–8 in a closely contested final.
