When Novak Djokovic debuted on the tour, he had a clear goal in his head, which was to achieve the world No. 1 ranking and win Wimbledon. Nobody believed that 17-year-old kid, but he made sure to prove everyone wrong and made his way through the Nadal-Federer duopoly to achieve the world No. 1 ranking and kept it for 428 weeks, won Wimbledon seven times and 24 Grand Slams. Now another 17-year-old has popped up on the landscape and wants to challenge the biggest records of the sport.

Moïse Kouamé did not hide his ambition after winning in Lyon. The 17-year-old Frenchman beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(2), 6-4 in the first round of the Lyon ATP 250 on Monday. It was his first tour-level win since his breakthrough run to the third round of Roland Garros this spring. Afterward, the wild card was asked about his long-term goals by Univers Tennis.

“My biggest dream is to have the Grand Slam record. The record is 24, so I’d need to have 25,” Kouame said. One tennis insider thinks he should have hesitated before putting this on record. Tennis journalist Jose Moron responded with a blunt reality check. 

“Just my opinion, but when you haven’t even won a single Grand Slam, you can’t think about having 25,” Moron wrote on X. “I applaud being ambitious, because you have to be, but when you set such a difficult goal, the most likely thing is that it ends up frustrating you instead of motivating you because it’s adding pressure that one day you’ll suffer from a lot.” His concern is about pressure, and the risk that a goal this large can turn from motivation into a burden. Moron then laid out the approach he would prefer. 

“First, one. Then, the next. And so on, until the ones you can achieve. If you start getting close, then we’ll talk about something else,” he added. 

It is a fair argument, and it is worth noting that Kouamé himself seems to share part of it. In the same interview, he made clear that he is realistic about where he stands. “I’m not going to win 25 Grand Slams while ranked 300th in the world, that’s obvious.” 

The debate is less about whether he is dreaming too big and more about the pressure teenager is putting on himself by saying it loudly. The Lyon result also shows why people are paying attention.

Kouamé’s rapid rise explains the big dreams

The teenager was ranked No. 194 entering the week and picked up his fourth tour-level win this season. Sonego was ranked 89th. Kouamé saved all five break points he faced and needed one break in the second set to finish the job. He became the third-youngest man to win a match at the tournament, behind only his coach, Richard Gasquet, who won a match there at 16 in 2003, and Roger Federer. 

He now plays Lorenzo Musetti, a top-10 player, in the second round. He will rise to No. 176 on Monday regardless of the result.

In March, he beat Zachary Svajda in his first ATP main-draw match at the Miami Open. That made him the youngest player to win a Masters 1000 match since Rafael Nadal in 2003. After that match, the player he has idolized all his life congratulated him on the victory. 

That player was Djokovic. The Serbian sent a direct message on Instagram, writing, “Big match today. Congrats. Hopefully you will go far.” 

In May, at Roland Garros, he knocked out 2014 US Open champion Marin Čilić in the first round, becoming the youngest player to win the first round of the tournament since 1991. He then reached the third round, the youngest to do so at a Grand Slam since Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003. His first Slam win came earlier than the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Federer and Djokovic. 

Those results are the reasons why expectations are starting to rise, and that’s why the discussion about his goals is so active. Records at this age are impressive, but not a guarantee of anything. There have been many teenagers who have come on tour with great potential only to discover that the road is much harder than the initial indications. Kouamé has also had a quiet spell, since this Lyon win was his first at tour level in months and first in his last five matches on the ATP tour. 

So far, the best response to the warning from Moron is the one Kouamé is already providing on court. Whether he reaches 25 Grand Slams or not is a question for the next decade, the first step is simply winning the next match.