Kouame’s ‘goal is World No. 1’, but first up: Miami debut

Moise Kouame is about to tick off something many young tennis player dreams about: stepping onto court at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

The 17-year-old Frenchman has received a wild card into the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he will make his main-draw debut at this level. For Kouame, the youngest player inside the Top 900 of the PIF ATP Rankings, it’s a moment he’s eager to embrace.

“I won my first tournaments on the circuit, which was really fun, then I qualified for my first ATP 250 event [in Montpellier],” Kouame, who is at a career-high World No. 385, said in a social media post. “Now playing in Miami is just unbelievable. Miami is Miami, you know? There’s no other [place] like Miami. It’s a really cool place.

“It’s going to be a big experience for me playing these guys, so I am going to try and put everything into it.”

Kouame has picked up speed during his rise in recent months. The 6’3” teen opened his 2026 season by winning back-to-back ITF World Tennis Tour titles before qualifying for his first tour-level event at the ATP 250 on home soil in Montpellier.

Now comes another step in his fast-moving journey. In Miami, Kouame will begin his campaign Thursday against American qualifier Zachary Svajda — their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. It is a chance for the young Frenchman to test himself against the world’s best on one of the Tour’s biggest stages.

“My goal is to be World No. 1 and win lots of Grand Slam [titles]. This is what I am training for,” Kouame said. “Now it’s a dream, and I hope later it won't be, but it will be real.”

Kouame first picked up a racquet at five years old after watching his older brother play, and it didn’t take long before he found a tennis hero to follow.

“Watching my brother play, I just wanted to play, so I grabbed a racquet,” Kouame said of his brother Michael. “My idol was Novak Djokovic growing up. I was just so amazed when I was watching him play — his style and resilience was just unbelievable.”