Roland-Garros 2026: Valentin Vacherot and Diane Parry in the second round

Despite Fiona Ferro’s early defeat in the first round last Sunday, our players from the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco are still represented at Roland-Garros 2026. Diane Parry and Valentin Vacherot both successfully made their entry today and will be competing in the 2nd round.

Valentin Vacherot embraces his new Grand Slam status

Revealed at the end of last season after his surprise victory at the Shanghai Masters 1000, Valentin Vacherot has since been competing in the top 20/30 and gives the clear impression of belonging among the elite. Seeded 16th, the Monégasque faced today the young Frenchman Thomas Faurel, ranked 378th in the world, coming from qualifying.

Although the ranking difference suggested a simple formality, the Monégasque had more difficulty than expected taming the vigor of the young Frenchman.

Just over an hour after the match began, Valentin Vacherot dominated the early stages by winning the first two sets. Not exceptional, but effective, he breaks serve once in each set, and does the rest of the work with solid serving as always (six aces, 81% of points won on serve).

In the third set, Thomas Faurel saves two break points early on. With 79% first serve percentage and recovered consistency in rallies, he forces his opponent into errors (12 unforced errors in the third set for Valentin Vacherot) and even breaks serve to win 6/3.

A fourth and final very tight set takes the two men to a tie-break. Valentin Vacherot saves a set point to ultimately win the deciding game 8 points to 6. 

Well supported by his serve, and with over 50 winners overall, the Monégasque wins in four sets (6/3-6/4-3/6-7/6). In the second round, he will face Chilean Alejandro Tabilo.

Battered, Diane Parry will be there for the second round at Roland-Garros 2026

Champion of the Clarins Trophy two weeks ago, Diane Parry has displayed convincing tennis lately. For her Roland-Garros debut, she faces an opponent in form, but within her reach, Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina. Starting poorly, the Frenchwoman turned the situation around, in front of her home crowd, to secure a fine victory in three sets.

However, the Nice native failed to get into her match at all. With 15 unforced errors in total, compared to three for her opponent, Diane Parry lets Kalinina run away with it. Twenty-seven minutes and 71% of points won later, the Ukrainian takes the first set 6 games to 0.

But in the second set, Diane Parry finds her form. She quickly takes the lead by breaking her opponent. More aggressive, more consistent, more accurate, the Frenchwoman dominates her opponent. With a double break and 11 winners, she takes the second set 6/2, forcing her opponent into a third set on the Philippe Chatrier court. 

The third set starts badly for the Frenchwoman, broken early and trailing 2/0. But Diane Parry fights back, catches up, and after much drama, breaks her opponent’s resistance by breaking serve near the end of the match. The Nice player gains confidence with this very important victory, final score 0/6-6/2-6/4. In the second round, she will face American Ann Li.

On the French side, note the excellent performance by Moïse Kouamé, 17 years old, who defeated Marin Cilic in three sets. Unfortunately, last year’s semi-finalist and huge surprise, Lois Boisson, was stopped in the first round, losing 6/2-6/2 to Ukrainian Anna Kalinskaya.