Challenger
Royer rising: The Frenchman forged in Eastern Europe
The 23-year-old is at a career-high No. 115 in the PIF ATP Rankings
April 14, 2025
Rwanda Challenger
Valentin Royer celebrates winning a Challenger 100 title in Kigali.
By Grant Thompson
Despite being born in the outskirts of Paris, Valentin Royer’s earliest memories are not the sounds of a French café or busy cobblestone streets. The Frenchman instead spent much of his childhood across countries like Czechia, Poland and Serbia, where life carried a different tone.
Now 23 and thriving on the ATP Challenger Tour, Royer recalls first picking up a racquet in Czechia….