
Daniil Medvedev suffered a massive upset in the opening round of the French Open 2026 losing to World Number 97 Adam Walton in a five-set thriller. Medvedev was a heavy favorite coming into this match as the World Number 6 had been in good form having reached the Final of Rome recently. Medvedev competed well against Sinner in the Rome Final where he took a set off Sinner despite losing the match. Playing in the first round of the French Open Medvedev was facing Australian wildcard Adam Walton who did not have much practice in the clay swing leading up to this event. Let us look at how twitter reacted to this shocking loss.
Walton d. Daniil Medvedev 6-2 1-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 at Roland Garros World No. 97 gets the biggest win of his life. First top 10 win of his career. Big upset 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/BdgQ3Vlyjy
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 26, 2026
Wow. Adam Walton comes back from 2-4 down in the 5th set to beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 and reach the 2nd round. That’s the SEVENTH TIME Medvedev loses in the first round of #RolandGarros. pic.twitter.com/3AmZ4vmJl9
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 26, 2026
🚨 MEDVEDEV OUT vs Walton (!!!) Whats more depressing is that Medvedev lead 4-2 in the 5th and also had several break points to secure double break... Medvedev only 3-7 in R1 here https://t.co/dynlygloCh pic.twitter.com/sAPC3S8fDB
— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) May 26, 2026
Soak it all in, Adam Walton 💚💛 The Queenslander takes down world No.8 Daniil Medvedev in five sets to record the biggest win of his career.#GoAussies pic.twitter.com/Nuzt5SUlwt
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) May 26, 2026
How the match panned out
Medvedev lost the opening set 6-2 with some horrible service games. However, the Russian came back strongly to win the second set 6-1. The game had plenty of ebbs and flows with Adam Walton clinching the third set 6-1 and leading the game once again. Daniil Medvedev won the fourth set 6-1 and pushed the match to a decider. The match went to a fifth set where Medvedev got an early break and was leading 4-2. Adam Walton had a strong hold in the seventh game and then broke Medvedev in the eighth game to make it 4-4. Walton once again faced multiple break points but managed to hold the serve and broke Medvedev to win the fifth set 6-4 and clinch a massive win.
Huge win for Adam Walton 👏 The Australian stuns Daniil Medvedev in the opening round at Roland-Garros 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/JZEhfGbViY
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) May 26, 2026
Huge win from Adam Walton 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/MvpuzTzIja
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
Daniil Medvedev in Grand Slams since 2025 AO 2025 - Round 2 - Tien RG 2025 - Round 1 - Norrie Wim 2025 - Round 1 - Bonzi USO 2025 - Round 1 - Bonzi AO 2025 - Round 4 - Tien RG 2025 - Round 1 - Walton 4 Round 1 exits in the last 6 slams 🤯pic.twitter.com/WoAA2z9pKd
— SK (@Djoko_UTD) May 26, 2026
The match went on for 3 hours and 22 minutes with both players leaving out everything on the field. Medvedev would be disappointed as he had plenty of opportunities in the fifth set to close out the game and fans were shocked by this result. This is the seventh first round exit for Daniil Medvedev in the French Open and arguably the biggest upset of the event so far.
Adam Walton beat Medvedev ( 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 )
17 year old Kouame beats Cilic in straight sets to make a mark
Remember the name 💎 17-year-old Moise Kouame records his first Grand Slam match win 🇫🇷#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/lhTWSSruP9
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
First Grand Slam win unlocked 🔓#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/v1fg5aU4u7
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2026
The youngster from France Kouame came into the tournament with a wild card and this was his first grand slam event. Kouame showed no signs of nerves as he won the first set 7-6 and then followed it up with 6-2, 6-1 to clinch the win over veteran Cilic. It was a terrific performance from the youngster and he has left behind a mark in his first French Open game.



