Nigeria’s rising tennis star, Seun Ogunsakin, saw his impressive run at the 2026 Roland Garros Junior Championships come to an end after a hard-fought defeat to Germany’s Oliver Majdandzic in the final qualifying round on Friday in Paris.
Ogunsakin, who entered the match as the only African player remaining in the boys’ singles qualifying draw, battled bravely but eventually fell 6-3, 7-6(5) to the highly-rated German prospect after one hour and 38 minutes on the clay courts of Roland Garros.
Majdandzic took control early in the opening set, using his powerful serve and aggressive baseline play to secure a 6-3 victory.
The second set appeared to be heading in the same direction when the German raced into a 3-0 lead.
However, the Nigerian teenager refused to surrender. Displaying remarkable resilience and determination, Ogunsakin fought back to level the contest and force a tiebreak, raising hopes of taking the match into a deciding third set.
In a tense finish, Majdandzic held his nerve to edge the tiebreak 7-5, sealing a straight-sets victory and a place in the Junior French Open main draw.
Despite the defeat, Ogunsakin leaves Paris with plenty of positives from his maiden Grand Slam junior qualifying campaign.
His spirited performances throughout the tournament underlined his growing reputation as one of Nigeria’s brightest tennis prospects.
Before his clash with Majdandzic, Ogunsakin was the last African standing in the qualifying rounds following the exits of Botswana’s Raguin Ntungamili and South Africa’s John Bothma.
Although his Roland Garros journey ended just one step away from the main draw, the Nigerian youngster earned admiration for his fighting spirit and composure on one of tennis’ biggest stages, further strengthening his credentials as a future star of African tennis.
