Zachary Svajda, United States, 23 years old, world No. 85

The American made his Roland Garros main-draw debut only this year and has already reached the fourth round. It is his best result at a Grand Slam. Along the way, Svajda has beaten serious opponents: Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton, the man who took out Daniil Medvedev, and Francisco Cerundolo, the older brother of the man who defeated Jannik Sinner. In the live ATP rankings, he is already inside the top 60.

Zachary beat Cerundolo in five sets on what would have been the 61st birthday of his father, Tom, who passed away last October. Svajda Sr. was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. Last autumn, the player had to interrupt his Asian swing and return home to spend the final days of his father’s life with him. He had planned to take a break from his career a little earlier, after the US Open, but his father would not let him do it, telling him: “I’ll be fine. Just go play.”

Tom Svajda was a professional coach at the Pacific Beach Tennis Club in San Diego. When Zach was two, he and his father would hit a ball back and forth in the living room. That is how his sporting life began. As Zachary himself admits, his father taught him everything. They were together 24 hours a day, seven days a week — on the tennis court and at home. When Tom died, Zach did not touch a racket for a month. Now he will play in the second week of a Grand Slam against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

Moise Kouame, France, 17 years old, world No. 318

Paris’s farewell to one of its most beloved sons, Gael Monfils, did not turn out quite so sad, because in those same days the prodigy Kouame stepped onto the big stage. The 17-year-old Moise is the first player born in 2009 or later to play a main-draw match at a Grand Slam. By beating veteran Marin Cilic in the opening round, the Frenchman became the youngest player to win a Roland Garros main-draw match since Romania’s Dinu Pescariu in 1991, and the youngest to do it at any Slam since 16-year-old Bernard Tomic at the 2009 Australian Open. Reaching the third round of the French Open will lift Kouame more than 100 places in the world rankings, up to No. 213. Richard Gasquet, the 2016 French Open quarter-finalist who has been coaching the player since January, can be satisfied.

Despite his very young age, Moise is constantly searching for himself. He has already had time to work at Justine Henin’s academy in Belgium and Patrick Mouratoglou’s academy on the Côte d’Azur. Kouame is the second-youngest French player to reach the third round of a Slam in the Open Era, after Thierry Tulasne at the 1980 US Open, and the youngest player overall at this stage since Wimbledon 2003, when Rafael Nadal did it.

Until recently, he had mainly been playing on the ATP Challenger Tour and ITF World Tennis Tour. In March, he made his ATP Masters 1000 debut in Miami, where he received a wild card thanks to the world-famous IMG agency, which manages his affairs.

Kouame has Ivorian roots through his father and Cameroonian roots through his mother. His mother, Suzanne, has always had a major influence on his career. On court, the Frenchman has drawn inspiration from Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. He still calls Nole his idol. Moise also loves Formula 1 and supports Red Bull Racing. His dream is to become a driver in the pinnacle of motorsport. Tennis, apparently, is just something for the soul.

Joao Fonseca, Brazil, 19 years old, world No. 30

The Brazilian is the best known of this trio. The Latin American market is important for the ATP, so Fonseca, now a quarter-finalist at this major, had been promoted long before his latest breakthrough: from two sets down against Djokovic in Paris. The victory over the Serb was indeed historic. The three-time Roland Garros champion had not lost before the quarter-final stage in the French capital since 2009, when Philipp Kohlschreiber stopped him in the third round. And before Joao, the only player to beat the Serb after trailing 0–2 at Roland Garros had been Jurgen Melzer in 2010. This French Open is, for now, the most successful Slam of Fonseca’s career. The tennis phenomenon already has two ATP titles to his name. Last year, he won in Buenos Aires and Basel.

Interestingly, the teenager from Rio prefers reading books to sitting on his phone. He is especially drawn to autobiographies of famous people. That habit helps create a healthy balance in a career that is developing at frightening speed. His coach, Guilherme Teixeira, had a major influence on that choice and plays an important role in the Brazilian’s life not only on court, but away from it as well. Joao also likes spending time with his family and, like any young man, playing video games.

Fonseca grew up ten minutes from the venue of the Rio Open, so every year he attended the ATP tournament as a fan. Watching real professionals at work, he eventually decided to focus on tennis. Although as a child, he played many different sports.

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