LILLE/STARNBERG, February 20, 2026
Just over a month after capturing his first professional title at the ITF World Tennis Tour event in Hazebrouck, Moise Kouame is beginning to feel right at home in northern France. This week at the Play In Challenger Lille – just 40 kilometers from his earlier triumph – the teenager from Paris advanced to his first ATP Challenger quarterfinal with a composed 6-3, 6-4 victory over Austria’s Joel Schwaerzler in one hour and 18 minutes.
Kouame, who turns 17 on March 6, continues to rewrite the record books. He is currently the only player born in 2009 to have won a match at Challenger level. Yet the milestone mattered less to him than the atmosphere inside the arena.
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
“I’m very happy that so many people came to support and encourage me,” he said. “I hope to see them again in large numbers tomorrow.”
Awaiting him in the quarterfinals is US-American qualifier Nishesh Basavareddy, one of the standout performers of this year’s tournament. Coached by Frenchman Gilles Cervara, the former mentor of Daniil Medvedev, the 20-year-old has emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 Play In Challenger.
Meanwhile, Benjamin Bonzi carried the momentum from his run to the final in Pau last week into Lille with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 win over Germany’s Justin Engel in just 63 minutes.
“It was a tricky match. I needed to be sharp from the start, and I entered the match much better than yesterday,” Bonzi explained. “I found my rhythm quickly, and in the end it was a very complete performance. I’m very pleased.”
The eighth seed will now face Belgium’s Alexander Blockx, who ended the title defense of Arthur Bouquier with a 6-1, 7-6 victory. Bouquier, last year’s champion, was unable to find solutions against the in-form 20-year-old.
The remaining quarterfinals promise further excitement. In-form Frenchman Titouan Droguet will meet Switzerland’s Jerome Kym, who dispatched Spain’s Martin Landaluce in straight sets. The fourth quarterfinal features an all-French showdown between Luca Van Assche and Clement Chidekh, ensuring at least one more home player in the semifinals as the tournament in Lille gathers momentum.
