“It’s completely crazy”: Kouame, 17, saves two points from defeat to win his first Challenger title in Brest

6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) against Martin Damm: two points from defeat in the deciding set, the 17-year-old Frenchman won his first Challenger title in Brest and will climb 44 places to No. 132, two days before facing Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Rolex Paris Masters.

1 November 2026

Tennis Majors

Moïse Kouamé, Brest 2026 | © @evoprod_

Moise Kouame won his first Challenger title on Sunday in Brest, beating Martin Damm 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) in front of 3,400 spectators at the Brest Arena. At 17, the Frenchman came back from two points of defeat in the deciding set, and will climb 44 places to No. 132 in the rankings on Monday. He started the week at No. 176.

“It’s crazy, it’s completely crazy,” Kouame said during the trophy ceremony.

He had already made history by reaching the final. At 17 years and 240 days, he became the third-youngest French player to reach a Challenger final, behind Richard Gasquet and Fabrice Santoro. On Sunday, he turned his first final into a first title.

The next challenge comes 48 hours later. Kouame, who learned on Friday that he had been handed a wildcard into the Rolex Paris Masters, opens against 13th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday. If he wins, he would face Denis Shapovalov or Karen Khachanov in the second round, with fourth seed Daniil Medvedev possibly waiting in the third.

Kouame’s comeback in the deciding set

The final looked to be slipping away from him in the third set. Kouame was broken at 2-2 by the American left-hander, the fifth seed, whose serve caused him problems all afternoon. At 6-5 down, he trailed 30-30 on his own serve, two points from defeat.

He held, forced a tie-break and took it 7-4 to seal a final that had already gone to a second-set tie-break, which Damm won 7-5.

It capped a week that started with a win over Hugo Grenier and turned in the second round against top seed and defending champion Hugo Gaston, who retired ill trailing 7-5, 2-1. Kouame then beat Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-4, before needing less than an hour to dismantle sixth seed Otto Virtanen, the 2024 Brest champion, 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-finals. He closed that match with an ace. Damm, by contrast, had spent 2 hours and 45 minutes beating second seed Dino Prizmic.

Four finals, four titles for Kouame

Brest was Kouame’s fourth final on the professional circuit, and his fourth title, after the M25 in Hazebrouck, the M15 in Bressuire and the M25 in Pula earlier this year.

At 17 years and 240 days, his new ranking of No. 132 also stands comparison with the greats. At the same age, Carlos Alcaraz’s best ranking was No. 136, Novak Djokovic’s No. 184 and Jannik Sinner’s No. 311. Roger Federer had reached No. 123, and Rafael Nadal No. 41.

Brest, where it all started for Kouame

Kouame first caught the wider public’s eye at Roland-Garros in the spring, when he reached the third round. Earlier this month in Lyon, he saved every break point he faced to beat Lorenzo Sonego and reach the last 16. But Brest is where he earned his first ATP ranking points, two years ago, and where he now has his first Challenger title.

At the trophy ceremony, he thanked the French crowd that had carried him all week, and the organisers, with whom he had shared games of Skyjo in the tournament offices.

Damm’s family had its own history in Brest. His father, also named Martin Damm, last lost in the city in 1999, at the Penfeld venue, against a certain Roger Federer.

The 11th edition of the Brest Open Groupe Vert was the first under tournament director Arnaud Di Pasquale. In the doubles, second seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha won the title on Saturday, beating top seeds Sriram Balaji and Evan King 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 10-7.