Ali Geldiyev, a 14-year-old tennis player from Turkmenistan, has reached the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros Junior Series regional qualifying tournament in Almaty. The competition is being held on the clay courts of ‘Gorky Tennis Park’, according to the news agency ‘Turkmenistan: Golden age’.

The tournament features 16 boys and 16 girls aged 16 and under from countries in Central and West Asia. Turkmenistan is represented by Ali Geldiyev, who qualified to compete in Almaty thanks to his high international and Asian rankings.

In Group A, Geldiyev defeated Beksulton Voksidov of Uzbekistan 7–6(1), 6–0, and Dong Seon Kim 6–0, 6–1. In his match against the tournament’s top seed, Rodion Traigel of Kazakhstan, the Turkmen tennis player lost in the decisive tie-break — 3–6, 6–2, 5–10.

Having finished second in the group, Geldiyev advanced to the quarter-finals. His opponent will be the eighth seed, Kiarash Sadeghizeidi from Iran, the winner of Group D.

The winners of the qualifiers will secure places in the final stage of the Roland Garros Junior Series, which will take place in Japan in October. There, the sole place in the main draw of the 2027 Roland Garros Junior Championships will be up for grabs.

In May, at the age of 14, Ali Geldiyev became the men’s champion of Turkmenistan for the first time, setting a national record. He began his training at Children’s and Youth Sports School No. 9 in Turkmenabat under the guidance of Babamurat Mamatrasulov. The player is currently training in Ashgabat with Meylis Orazmuhammedov and Yuri Rogussky.