This is Niels McDonald, junior champion of Roland Garros 2025

Andrés Tomás Rico | 10 Jun 2025 | 17.24

This is Niels McDonald, junior champion of Roland Garros 2025. Photo: Getty Images.

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While all the cameras, journalists, and fans crowded into the Philippe Chatrier last Sunday to witness one of the greatest finals of all time between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, in the press room appeared a young 17-year-old boy with long hair and a big smile. It was Niels McDonald, the new junior champion of Roland Garros 2025.

"I am very happy to start here among all the players and end up winning the tournament. It is an honor, after probably many legends have won it. But it is also just one more step towards a great goal and a dream that I have been pursuing for years. So, yes, today or tomorrow we can celebrate it, but in the end, we also go back to work. We will continue working to be able to play here on the big stage someday. But, of course, it is an absolute honor and a pleasure to win this tournament, and I am more than happy to lift the trophy here," said the German as soon as he sat down in the chair next to his champion's title.

He landed in Paris without being a seed and it was his third tournament as a professional.

McDonald, a right-handed player with a strong forehand, defied all odds. In fact, the German was participating in his third tournament as a professional tennis player and arrived in Paris without being a seed. He comfortably advanced through the first two rounds, and in the second round, he defeated a seeded player (Keaton Hance, number 16, by 6-1, 6-3). However, he made a name for himself in the round of 16 by eliminating the number one seed and top favorite: Andrés Santamarta (who is now the number one junior) by 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Having already defeated two seeded players, he had two more to go: Theodor Alexandrescou, number seven (7-5, 6-2), and Ryo Tabata, number thirteen (6-2, 6-2). This led him to the grand final against his compatriot Max Schoenhaus. However, the day before this decisive match, he went to a hair salon with his opponent accompanied by former player Philipp Petzschner, who reached number 35 in the world, to fulfill a promise.

"It was a bet at the beginning of the tournament. If one of us, the Germans, wins the tournament, then yes, we give him a haircut of his choice. I mean, since both of us were in the final, then one of us is going to win. Yes, so we went to the salon yesterday at 6:30. We made an appointment for him. At first, we wanted to do like an Avatar haircut, like an arrow on his head. Then, seeing it live, we couldn't stop laughing. Then we ended up feeling so bad that we said: Okay, shave it all off," he said jokingly.

Despite the good relationship he also has with Max Schoenhaus, McDonald struggled in the final. He lost the first set in a tiebreak but regrouped and stayed mentally strong to turn the match around and be crowned champion in Paris (6-7(5), 6-0, 6-3): "I was nervous, of course. It's a big stage. The court also seemed larger, so it's something different from what we had played before. I lost a very tight first set but also with some nervous decisions that came out of nowhere, some unintelligent returns, some tightness on some shots. But in the end, I lost it. Mentally, I had to stay there. Of course, I was going to put my heart into this match. So I told myself: 'Okay, let's go for more now, let's put even more energy, let's hit the balls harder now.' And it turned out very well. I felt much more powerful in the second and third sets. I felt more like myself. I moved my legs better. So I told myself from the beginning of the second set: 'Okay, I can win this, I want to win this.'. So I did everything I could to achieve it," said the German in a statement that demonstrates the great mental strength he possesses at just 17 years old.

In addition to having the assistance of Philipp Petzschner, his main coach is Italian Gianluca Marchiori, with whom he trains in Stockholm, although he could not be present at his pupil's significant milestone: “We have been working together for about eight, nine months, maybe. I am very grateful to have him by my side. He is an amazing coach, and I am ready for the future with him to take the big steps. He is not here because he is taking a little break. I will continue when he is in Stockholm because he lives there and trains there with me. We still work at the academy. So, yes, now he is going to be a father, and I wish him the best of luck, of course. Yes, so we will take a few months off for him to spend time with his family. Then we will return to the tour when he feels ready”.

Besides being German and training in Stockholm, he also has Scottish influence from his stepfather, with whom he has a great relationship: “He has been part of my tennis career since I started. He has always been by my side, and I am super grateful to have him there. He makes critical decisions, but in the end, he is always there for me, always supports me. If there are things we don't agree on, in the end, he just wants the best, so I am super grateful. Yes, he was here all week supporting me, which made me very happy, and I thanked him, with my brother by his side. Yes, it was absolutely amazing to have both of them here," concludes McDonald, who aims to make history in German tennis, as no one has won at Roland Garros since 1997 when Daniel Elsner became the champion in the main draw. And since in 2014 Alexander Zverev won the Junior Australian Open title, no German had won a junior Grand Slam. At the moment, the 17-year-old is just starting his career, but he should not be overlooked.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Así es Niels McDonald, campeón junior de Roland Garros 2025

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