Moïse Kouamé is likely leaving Roland-Garros much richer.
After all, the 17-year-old tennis player advanced to the third round of the men’s singles at the French Open following his May 28 match against Adolfo Vallejo. While the achievement comes with a guaranteed €187,000 in winnings (about $218,000 USD), concerns about an age requirement surrounding the funds have raised eyebrows.
Mike Hayden, a producer on Andy Roddick’s Served Media podcast, alleged on the May 28 episode that Moïse “can’t even collect his winnings ’cause he’s not 18 yet.”
“There’s a French law that you can’t collect the prize money until you turn 18,” he said. “He better be getting a f–king interest rate while the government keeps that bag.”
Following the statements, Moïse’s agent Daryl Monfils told Front Office Sports in an email that the claims were “wrong information” but did not provide any further details.
But that’s not to say the athlete—who became the youngest player to reach a men’s singles Grand Slam third round since Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003—won’t be taking the prize with him.
