Zachary Svajda is not a name that has appeared often in Grand Slam coverage. That is changing at the 2026 French Open.
According to Yahoo Sports, Svajda, a 23-year-old from San Diego, advanced to the third round after wins over Australians Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton. The victory over Popyrin stood out. Svajda dropped the first set before winning the next three to close out the match.
Before this tournament, Svajda's best Grand Slam results were two second-round appearances at the US Open, in 2021 and 2025. At last year's US Open, he pushed Novak Djokovic in the second round, taking the opening set via tiebreaker before Djokovic won the next three sets. Svajda also defeated Marin Cilic in straight sets in the first round of this year's Indian Wells Open.
His ranking has climbed steadily. He reached a career-best ranking of World No. 82 in March 2026. In the current ATP live rankings, he sits at No. 74.
Svajda turned professional in 2019. His father Tom competed at the junior level in the 1980s. He has said he idolizes Roger Federer and John Isner and has trained with fellow Californian Taylor Fritz on occasion. He has won three ITF Challenger titles and has recorded victories over Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda at the Challenger level.
On Saturday, Svajda will face the winner of the second-round match between Francisco Cerundolo and Hugo Gaston.
