Valentin Royer: The Frenchman forged in Eastern Europe

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

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. Royer moved between the aforementioned countries during a 15-year span and learned lessons that continue to shape who he is today.

“The major thing that stands out in Eastern Europe is this work ethic. They are not afraid to work,” Royer told ATPTour.com. “Most often, these guys play tennis not just for fun, but to live. They really want to succeed in life through tennis. It’s a little bit like just work, or die. It brought me work discipline that sometimes in western Europe we are not used to.”

At around age 14, Royer was living in Belgrade, Serbia and training at the Tipsarevic Tennis Academy, founded by former World No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings Janko Tipsarevic. Royer trained there for two years while his father, Quentin, worked for a supermarket brand.

Royer returned to Paris for his senior year of high school, but his time in Serbia’s capital city left a lasting impact, especially the moments he had under Tipsarevic’s guidance.

“He has high standards, of course. When you come to him and say you have a project to be Top 100 or you have a dream to be Top 10, you have to set the bar pretty high and the discipline and work ethic pretty high,” Royer said.

Royer was initially more drawn to golf than tennis as a young kid. He also enjoyed wakeboarding and surfing. But as he approached his pre-teen years, his focus shifted. He had dreams of competing at Grand Slams and reaching the Top 10.

Now Royer is relishing the best results of his career. The former Top 10 junior won back-to-back Challenger titles last month in Rwanda and rode a 14-match winning streak to the Zadar Challenger final, during which Borna Coric ended the Frenchman’s hopes of a hat-trick.

Valentin Royer celebrates his Kigali-1 title run with ballkids. Credit: Rwanda Challenger

At a career-high No. 115 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Royer has reached at least the semi-finals in his past six outings.

“Something that stands out, I would say, is the fact that I could break limits in my head,” Royer said. “After the first tournament, usually before I’d be in my head convincing myself, ‘Okay, I won one, let’s go back home and practise’.

“When I was seeing guys like [Benjamin] Bonzi winning back-to-back-to-back tournaments [last October], I didn’t believe in myself enough to do those things. I really battled with myself and gave myself the best conditions to perform at the highest level.”

That newfound belief has helped fuel Royer’s rise, strengthened by the lessons he has carried with him since a young age.

“The fact that I have this work ethic in me, I’m not afraid of working hours and hours on court, this really brought out my inner me,” Royer said. “That’s important in the high level tennis where we are now.”

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