Moise Kouame, 17, becomes the third-youngest French Challenger finalist after Gasquet and Santoro

6-1, 6-2 against 2024 champion Otto Virtanen: at 17 years and 240 days, the Frenchman reaches his first Challenger final in Brest, where he will face Martin Damm on Sunday.

31 October 2026

Cédric Rouquette

Moïse Kouamé, Brest 2026 | © @evoprod

Moise Kouame is in a hurry. At 17 years and 240 days, the Frenchman reached his first Challenger final on Saturday in Brest, beating sixth seed Otto Virtanen 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour. He sealed the win with an ace.

The result makes him the third-youngest French player to reach a Challenger final, behind Richard Gasquet (16 years and 19 days) and Fabrice Santoro (17 years and 64 days). He moves ahead of Gabriel Debru (17 years and 248 days) and Luca Van Assche (18 years and 144 days).

It also lifts him in the rankings. Currently No. 176, Kouame will break into the Top 150 thanks to this final, and would move close to 130th place if he wins the title.

Kouame in Brest: a 17-year-old’s run to the final

Kouame burst into the wider public’s view in the spring, when he reached the third round at Roland-Garros. Earlier this month in Lyon, he saved every break point he faced to beat Lorenzo Sonego and reach the last 16.

Brest is familiar ground. It was here, two years ago, that Kouame earned his first ATP ranking points. This week, on the fast indoor hard court of the Brest Arena, he went much further.

His week turned in the second round, against top seed and defending champion Hugo Gaston. Kouame led 7-5, 2-1 when Gaston, who was ill, retired. In the quarter-finals, he beat Italy’s Francesco Maestrelli 6-3, 6-4, before taking apart Virtanen, the 2024 Brest champion, in the semi-finals.

The week has gathered pace off the court too. On Friday, Kouame learned that he had been handed a wildcard into the main draw of the Rolex Paris Masters, where he will face 13th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round.

Kouame vs Damm: the Brest final on Sunday

Standing between Kouame and the title is fifth seed Martin Damm. The American needed 2 hours and 45 minutes to beat second seed Dino Prizmic 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-5 in the other semi-final, spending 1 hour and 45 minutes more on court than the Frenchman. Damm had beaten Clement Tabur in two tie-breaks in the quarter-finals.

The final starts at 15:00 local time on Sunday. The doubles title has already been decided: brought forward to Saturday at the ATP’s request, the final went to second seeds Gonzalo Escobar and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, who beat top seeds Sriram Balaji and Evan King 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 10-7.