ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2026

Valentin Royer

Press Conference

V. ROYER/H. Dellien

6-4, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the win tonight for qualifying for the second round. How do you reflect on your overall performance despite the difficult conditions?

VALENTIN ROYER: It was a tough match, especially at the beginning. He's a tough opponent. He's a real challenge on clay for me. Honestly, I was ready for that fight, and I think I managed well to play with him and to get my tactic together to play with my style, with my game.

So, yeah, I'm really happy with the win and to be in the second round.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Hello, Valentin. Is this a relief for you, this win, because we know that the beginning of your season was not what you were expecting. So how good does it feel, this first Roland?

VALENTIN ROYER: Yes, it is absolutely super. It's a real challenge that I've met here today, because as you said, the beginning of the season was not easy for me, but it's just the first round in Roland. That's nothing crazy.

But, yes, I'm very happy with my performance. I could have really got into a far more tricky match with such an experienced player on clay, a South America who really knows his game on clay.

Today, as I said, I really focused on my tactics, putting the pressure on him right from the beginning, and that's what I really managed to do well, to be quite honest, with everything that we put together beforehand with the coach and the team to be in the very best possible conditions for this match.

Q. Have the recent months contributed to a change in mindset for you?

VALENTIN ROYER: Yes, quite clearly. As we were saying with my team, the past few months -- you know, when you think you're there, tennis brings you back down to earth. You know, it makes you question yourself again, and this is what happened.

I took a real slap in the face from the tours, and I went through some very difficult periods in my life. Something that I would never thought would have happened to me when I was younger, but you know, that's it. It's done, and I've managed to climb back up that slope and to begin feeling good again on the court and to be more and more confident.

As a man, you know, my self-confidence, it really taught me a lot. Today out on the court, that's what I showed. I think that I played my game from beginning to the end, and I wasn't afraid of going up to the net to grab the points and to keep my true identity in my game and to really go for it and have this hunger that I lost in recent months.

I think that I really found that today on the court again.

Q. Good evening, Valentin. The second round you might be playing against Djokovic. What will be your mindset before playing against such a player?

VALENTIN ROYER: No, it's Djoko or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Well, the match isn't over yet, so I'm not thinking about it too much. Let's see tomorrow or this evening, but for the time being, I'm not thinking about that. I'm just happy for my first round, and I'm enjoying it, so we'll think about that tomorrow or on Tuesday.

I have time to prepare to play on Wednesday. So it's still the fourth set. The game is not over.

Q. You're talking about trust and self-confidence. How did you rebuild your self-confidence? Did the Challengers help you, and did the training help you to put in place different things? How did you rebuild this self-confidence that you seem to have lost?

VALENTIN ROYER: Yes, we worked a lot on the mental side of things. Yes, I was playing against weaker players, and the guy I played against today is 140th, but the ranking today doesn't really mean much.

All of the guys here are hungry for the wins, and they really want to win and go as far as possible. So mentally, yeah, we did a lot of work, and I really needed that to rebuild my self-confidence and above all to really find this hunger to win that I'd lost in recent times.

For my game it's very important. I have a very aggressive, offensive game, and I go up a lot to the net. If I don't have the self-confidence, I don't have this urge to win, it's very difficult to perform in the very best way possible. So it was very important for me to also talk about what I was thinking, what I was feeling, how I was feeling on the court and off the court, as well, with my mental preparer. We talked a lot about that.

I'm happy with myself today, I feel good, and I'm very happy to play in this way, and above all, I'm enjoying myself on the court.

Q. Good evening, Valentin. For the past year you had a rather difficult loss last year. You've been through a lot. Are you a different player from everything that you've been through?

VALENTIN ROYER: Yes, quite obviously. The end of last year was something very new for me. I got into the 100s. I was close to the top 50, and I thought that, you know, everything was due to me and I would get through really easy.

What I was saying earlier on was that the tour really gave me a slap in the face, and it made me really come back down to earth.

But, you know, I was very, very low, and I never thought that I would be that low in my career. So more than a lesson of tennis, it was a lesson of life for me as a man, but also as a tennis player.

So, yes, today I feel that I'm released from all of that, and I'm relieved that I'm enjoying myself once again on the court. And playing in front of a French crowd that's on fire, I was really happy to be on the court, and you can see it in my game. I'm happy off the court. I feel confident in myself, and you can see it on the court. At the moment you can see it even more.

In any case, I'm on the right road forwards.

Q. You said to beat a clay court player, it was a very hot day, the clay was very dry. I don't know what it was like at dusk, but having overcome all of these obstacles, whereas potentially it could have been a trap match.

VALENTIN ROYER: Yes. Well, there were a lot of court changes, and we were, first of all, supposed to play on the 7th, then the 6th, and then maybe the 7th because the 7th would have finished before the 6th. I received a call and said, no, we're going to go onto Court 14.

So there were a lot of switches at the last moment, but it didn't really have a big impact on the match.

I thought that the court would be dryer. I thought that we would also be playing earlier, so I got ready for that. I thought that maybe with a dryer court, it would be an advantage for me, because I have a very aggressive game, and the balls move faster. I thought, no, that could be a trap, because it will slow down, the clay will be a little bit more damp, and there will be longer rallies.

But, yes, the clay was very good quality, and recently I trained on Jean-Bouin, and it's not the same quality of courts, although they're great courts. They're dryer. They're more slippery, but this clay was of very great quality.

The staff has done an incredible job on the courts. The gardeners are just incredible. They're the best in the world, I think.

So, yes, it was great fun to play on that court with the sensations. And the win at the end, it was a cherry on top of the cake.

It really could have been a trap, this match, but I think that I really managed it well tactically and mentally.