LILLE/STARNBERG, February 17, 2026
Sixteen-year-old wild card Moise Kouame made a winning start to his Play In Challenger Lille campaign on Tuesday, defeating Croatian qualifier Matej Dodig 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 35 minutes. Ranked No. 507 in the world and celebrating his 17th birthday on March 6, the rising French prospect delivered a composed performance in his main-draw debut at the ATP Challenger Tour 125 event.
A KILLER forehand
Moise Kouame hitting all the right spots en route to his first Challenger win! #ATPChallenger | @PlayinLille pic.twitter.com/EhlS7lwqGr
— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) February 17, 2026
“The North suits me well. Day after day I keep learning,” said the youngster from Sarcelles, who described his opening match as “a good performance, with the objectives achieved.”
Kouame will next face Austria’s Joel Schwaerzler, who battled past former world No. 7 David Goffin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes. The 35-year-old Belgian, currently ranked 119th, admitted that lingering left knee pain from late 2025 hampered his performance. “Physically it was complicated,” Goffin acknowledged.
Earlier in the day, defending champion Arthur Bouquier survived a dramatic three-set battle against Belgium’s Kimmer Coppejans, prevailing 7-5, 0-6, 7-5 after two hours and 16 minutes. “I would have liked to spare myself that, but I’m hungry for wins, so I’ll take everything that comes right now,” Bouquier said. “This kind of match will give me confidence. I didn’t play badly, but in the second set I completely dropped my level.” The 25-year-old squeezed into the second round by the narrowest of margins.
The standout result of the day came from Clement Chidekh, who knocked out second seed Jacob Fearnley in three sets, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. The 24-year-old from Arles will now meet compatriot Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg in an all-French second-round clash.
The first round concludes with the opening match of eighth seed Benjamin Bonzi, recent finalist at the Pau Challenger, who takes on Daniil Glinka. Three more Frenchmen are scheduled for second-round action: Titouan Droguet faces Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov, Luca Van Assche meets veteran Mikhail Kukushkin, and third seed Hugo Gaston takes on US-American Nishesh Basavareddy as the tournament gathers momentum in Lille.
