Kaylan Bigun: Who is US star and junior French Open champion?
Kaylan Bigun was one of the surprise US stars of the French Open, with the American capturing the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros.
He is the first American boy to win the title since Tommy Paul nine years ago and will hope to also forge a hugely successful ATP career one day.
We take you through all you need to know about another junior US star to keep an eye on.
Personal life
Born in Los Angeles in May 2006, Bigun’s dad is Ukrainian, having moved to America as a teenager.
And the 18-year-old has a twin brother, Meecah, who is also a tennis player.
The lefty still largely trains in his home state of California, but also frequently trains at the USTA centre in Florida.
Junior success
Bigun has been a promising junior for several years, being part of the United States Junior Davis Cup team that reached the final of the event in Antalya in 2022 – alongside Meecah.
And he impressed at Junior Wimbledon last summer, defying his unseeded status to beat two seeds and reach the last eight, where he fell to ninth seed Darwin Blanch.
He was also a semi-finalist at the Junior Orange Bowl in 2023, while he had a strong campaign Down Under at the Australian Open in 2024.
Bigun reached the last eight of the boys’ singles, losing in three tight sets to Nicolai Budkov Kjær at that stage, while also reaching the doubles semi-final alongside Jagger Leach.
Congratulations Kaylan Bigun!
A junior singles champion pic.twitter.com/hKBA9UIQV1
— USTA (@usta) June 8, 2024
Roland Garros run
Bigun was the fifth seed at Roland Garros and lived up to high expectations by claiming the boys’ title.
The 18-year-old did not drop a set in his opening three matches and then battled past Swiss qualifier Henry Bernet 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in the last eight to seal a semi-final spot.
Bigun was then arguably an underdog in the last four against second seed Joel Schwarzler but rallied from a set down to beat the Austrian 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the final.
In the final, he was on paper the favourite against the unseeded Tomasz Berkieta, though found himself a set down versus the Pole.
However, much like in his semi-final, he responded in style, claiming a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win to lift the title.
Collegiate career
Despite his French Open victory, we won’t see Bigun transitioning to the senior game quite yet.
The 18-year-old is set to play collegiate tennis at UCLA – one of America’s best colleges – from September.
Collegiate tennis has proven a hugely successful pathway into the professional game in recent years, with the likes of Danielle Collins and John Isner all having success.
Could we see Bigun make similar inroads in the years to come?