Andy Roddick has expressed his dismay that Moise Kouame seemingly cannot receive his French Open prize money despite his Grand Slam breakthrough.
In a tournament where seeds in the men’s draw have scattered like skittles in scorching Parisian temperatures, some remarkable stories have come to the fore.
No more so than 17-year-old Kouame, who backed up his win over 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic with a victory over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to reach the third round of the French Open for the first time.
The teenager has set a number of records along the way, along with enjoying a seismic jump up the ATP rankings to 214.
After beating Cilic, Kouame earned €87,000 (£75,473) and then picked up another €130,000 (£112,775) for his second-round win. But it seems the youngster won’t be able to pocket that cash injection for a while yet.
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On the latest episode of Served, show producer, Mike Hayden, revealed that under French Law, minors (under-18s) are not allowed to receive or spend prize money or significant earnings directly.
Instead, their earnings are legally protected to prevent exploitation. Kouame only turned 17 in March, so he has quite a way to go before he can pocket that £173,440.
Former world No 1 Roddick was stunned by this revelation.
He said, “Wait, so you have a job, you make money and they won’t give you money? That’s seems absurd to me. It seems absurd.”
When Producer Mike stood by this assertion, Roddick added, he better be getting an interest rate while the government holds that back.
Kouame may not be too focused on that as he plays former world No 19 Alejandro Tabilo in round three of the French Open.
The home favourite will be eyeing a dream run in a tournament where overwhelming favourite Jannik Sinner suffered a shock loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Wednesday.
Kouame was in the Italian’s half of the draw and like many left in the competition, the Frenchman will be licking his lips at the prospect of a deep run.
After winning his opening two matches, Kouame became the youngest male player to reach the third round of a major since Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003.
That is not bad company to be in.
READ MORE: Roland Garros: John McEnroe issues Novak Djokovic verdict after Jannik Sinner’s shock exit
The post ‘That seems absurd’ – Why Moise Kouame cannot receive his €200,000 French Open earnings appeared first on Tennis365.
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