Niels McDonald: Historical junior victory at the French Open!

Niels McDonald: Historical junior victory at the French Open!

Paris, Frankreich - On June 7, 2025, the German tennis young people celebrated a historically significant success. Niels McDonald, 17 years old, won 6: 7 (5: 7), 6: 0, 6: 3 in the juniors' final against his compatriot Max Schönhaus (also 17 years old). He is the first German tennis player since Alexander Zverev, who won a Grand Slam tournament in the juniors eleven years ago. McDonald is the third German player who was able to win this title in the history of the French Open, according to Zverev and a former title holder.

Before they moved into the final, both McDonald and Schönhaus shone in their semi -finals. McDonald clearly prevailed against Ryo Tabata from Japan with 6: 2, 6: 2, while Schönhaus Ivan Ivanov from Bulgaria defeated 6: 3, 6: 4. The final took place in the third largest stadium in the facility, and the two young players hugged after the exciting match, which underlines the friendly relationship between them.

a milestone for German tennis

The success of McDonald and Schönhaus is particularly positive by the German Tennis Bund (DTB), which has recently been criticized due to lack of success. With these two talents there is now a quartet of 17-year-olds, which also includes Justin Engel and Diego Dedura, who have already celebrated the first successes on the ATP tour. National coach Philipp Petzschner emphasized the need for hard work on the continuous further development of these promising players.

Veronika Rücker, Vice President of the DTB, described the final as "milestone for German tennis". Their positive assessment is strengthened by the performance of a total of seven German players: inside that reached the second round of the French Open. This result is the best for Germany since 1995 and shows that Germany is on the right track in international tennis.

A look at the achievements of German players

The seven German actors who reached the second round are:

• Niels McDonald (juniors)
• Jamie Mackenzie (Junior)
• Julia Stusek (junior)
• Sonja Zhenikhova (junior)
• Eva Bennemann (junior)
• Mariella Thamm (junior)
• Max Schönhaus (juniors)

On the achievements of the young athletes: Inside, Rücker expressed very positive. The promotion of young people in Germany will be developed by the new competitive sports concept "Together! World class!" supports. Not only are the national coaches: inside Torben Beltz and Philipp Petzschner, but also Jasmin Wöhr, Björn Simon, and Cameron Scullard ready to look after and support the players.

This exciting day in Paris could be the turning point for German tennis, which hopefully will also reach new heights at an international level. The achievements of McDonald, Schönhaus and her colleagues give every reason to hope.

For detailed information on the finals and the players, the reporting on Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Die Zeit and tennis.de Read.