Schweriner Niels McDonald: Triumph at the French Open junior final!

Schweriner Niels McDonald: Triumph at the French Open junior final!

Paris, Frankreich - Niels McDonald, 17 years old from Schwerin, sensationally won the French Open junior final in Paris on June 7, 2025. In a purely German finale, he prevailed against his peer Max Schönhaus 6: 7 (5: 7), 6: 0 and 6: 3. McDonald is the first German junior winner at the French Open since Daniel Elsner in 1997. The final took place on the Court Simonne Mathieu, the third largest place in Stade Roland Garros, in front of several thousand spectators.

After a lost first sentence, McDonald significantly increased his performance and won the second set in just 20 minutes. In the third set, he managed an early break to 3: 1, so that after 1:40 hours he was able to secure victory. At the subsequent award ceremony, McDonald said that it was a great honor to play in front of so many spectators. Max Schönhaus recognized McDonald's deserved victory and praised his opponent.

historical finals and promoting young talent

This final is not only a personal success for McDonald, but also an important moment for German tennis. Veronika Rücker, the Vice President of the German Tennis Federation, described the encounter as "milestone for German tennis". It was the first purely German final at a junior grand slam for almost 30 years, with the last German young player who was in Paris in 2013, Alexander Zverev. Zverev lost there against Cristian Garin.

national coach Philipp Petzschner, who had a bet before the tournament and had his head shaved to fulfill, also expressed a positive statement about the achievements of his protégés. McDonald, who is currently training in Stockholm, has performed strongly throughout the tournament and is now the first German tennis player since Zverev, who has won a Grand Slam tournament in the juniors. Zverev won the Australian Open in 2014.

successful talents in Paris

In terms of the entire tournament, the German promotion of young talent shows success: All seven German starters in the individual junior competitions have mastered the first round at the French Open, which is the first time in 30 years that seven German juniors move in to the second round of a junior grand slam. Most recently, seven German juniors reached this phase at Wimbledon 30 years ago. Rücker said positively about the performance of the young athletes and the development in German tennis.

These successes could give new impulses for the young German tennis and produce a new generation of talents.