The Moïse Kouame phenomenon came to an end in the semifinals, abruptly stopped by another Frenchman, Luca Van Assche (21, world No. 130), who made short work of his opponent, winning on Saturday in straight sets (6–1, 6–1) in just over an hour. A tough blow for the young Parisian, who will celebrate his 17th birthday on March 6 and never managed to find the solution in this match. Kouame paid his dues, but he comes out of his first Challenger tournament appearance stronger. His three victories, each in straight sets, will allow him to break into the world’s top 400; he is expected to be ranked No. 397 in the next rankings release.
For Luca Van Assche, this final at the Play In Challenger Lille confirms his strong start to the season, following his quarterfinal run at the Challenger in Pau last week and his victory at the Challenger in Quimper in early February.
Van Assche has almost been something of a miracle man in this 2026 Play In Challenger. He nearly exited in the first round against Switzerland’s Leandro Riedi, trailing by a set and 3–5: “It’s true that the first round was really tough—I was two points away from defeat. In every tournament where I’ve gone very far, I’ve always had to come through a difficult match,” the Frenchman admitted.
Van Assche will face Belgium’s Alexander Blockx (20, world No. 104) in Sunday’s final (3 p.m.), after Blockx defeated Switzerland’s Jérôme Kym (23, world No. 197) 6–3, 7–6 (1h26). The Belgian will not have the crowd on his side in the final, but he will be able to count on a few supporters from across the border in the stands, as was already the case on Saturday in the semifinals.
It should also be noted that the doubles final was won by the pair Filip Pieczonka (21, Poland) / Ivan Liutarevich (30) against Metej Vocel (28, Czech Republic) / Jakub Paul (26, Switzerland), 6–4, 3–6, 10–8.
