Paris semi-final, Estoril, Roland-Garros junior: Everything you always wanted to know about Luca Van Assche (but never had time to find out)
Luca Van Assche beat Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final at the 2026 Rolex Paris Masters, where Ben Shelton awaits. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked about the Frenchman, from his Estoril title to his Roland-Garros junior crown.
Luca Van Assche, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Who is Luca Van Assche?
Luca Van Assche is a French tennis player who reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final at the 2026 Rolex Paris Masters, as the last Frenchman in the draw. He came back from 2-0 down in the third set to beat qualifier Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-5 in the quarter-finals, and moved into the top 35.
He faces third seed Ben Shelton in the semi-finals. He won the only ATP title of his career in Estoril in July 2026, and the Roland-Garros boys’ title in 2021.
“Happy to have turned the situation around,” he said after the Hijikata match.
How did Luca Van Assche reach the Paris Masters semi-finals?
Ranked No. 47 at the start of the week, he beat Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-5 for his first win in Paris. He then saved nine of the 10 break points he faced to beat 15th seed Learner Tien 7-6 (4), 6-4, avenging a 6-3, 6-1 defeat in Vienna in October.
In the last 16, he beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, avenging his defeat to the Italian in Lyon, where Musetti had won 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-4 in the longest match of his career.
How many titles has Luca Van Assche won?
One on the ATP Tour. In Estoril in July 2026, he beat Alexander Blockx 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the final, which took him back into the top 50, two years after a dip that had sent him outside the top 200.
He also won two Challenger titles in 2023, in Pau and Sanremo, on his way into the top 100.
What are Luca Van Assche’s best Grand Slam results?
His best result is the third round of the 2024 Australian Open, where he beat Musetti 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0 in the second round.
He won his first main-draw match at a major at Roland-Garros in 2023, beating Marco Cecchinato. At Wimbledon in 2026, he retired with back pain against Marton Fucsovics.
Did Luca Van Assche win a junior Grand Slam?
Yes. He won the Roland-Garros boys’ title in 2021, beating his compatriot Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
The two have followed parallel paths since. They both qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2023, where Fils beat him in the semi-finals.
Has Luca Van Assche played the Next Gen ATP Finals?
Twice, and he reached the semi-finals both times. In 2023, he beat Alex Michelsen in an epic on his way to the last four.
In 2024, in Jeddah, he opened with a win over Shang Juncheng, before Joao Fonseca beat him in the semi-finals.
How old is Luca Van Assche and where is he from?
Luca Van Assche was born on May 11, 2004, in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium, to a Belgian father and an Italian mother who became a French citizen. He is 22. He spent his first three years in Belgium, before the family moved to France, where he lived in Aix-en-Provence, Lyon and Paris.
He started playing tennis at four in Aix-en-Provence, with Roger Federer as his idol, and became French under-14 champion in 2018. Alongside his career, he studied mathematics and computer science at Paris-Dauphine University.
What are Luca Van Assche’s best wins on the ATP Tour?
Before Paris, his best-known wins came in his first season. In Hamburg in 2023, he came from a set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and in Banja Luka he beat Stan Wawrinka before pushing Novak Djokovic.
His wins over Tien and Musetti in Paris in 2026 are the biggest of his career by ranking. His current ranking is on his ATP Tour profile.
