"Proud and excited for this next chapter": Junior world No. 5 switches nationality to represent France

Junior World No. 5 Yannick Alexandrescu recently announced his change of nationality and will represent France starting in 2026. Alexandrescu started making headlines from an early age, having accumulated more than 120 trophies by the time he was 12 years old.

One of the young promises of world tennis—who previously represented Romania—decided to switch to the French flag. He is currently ranked World No. 1342 in the ATP rankings, although he is positioned at No. 5 in the junior rankings. His most notable performance in a junior Grand Slam was reaching the quarterfinals of Roland Garros this year - in singles and doubles. Also he was finalist at the  ITF World Junior Tennis Finals.

"I’m delighted to share that I will now be representing France. Beyond having the nationality, French culture has been part of me for as long as I can remember,” the teenager posted on social media. “I will now be training in Paris, at the Centre National d’Entraînement. Proud and excited for this next chapter.”

Alexandrescu is the son of a well-known former F1 commentator, 'Miki' Alexandrescu—who passed away in 2020—who lived in France for many years and obtained citizenship while residing in Paris, hence the young tennis player's connection to France. Yannick also included a message of thanks in Romanian: "Many thanks to the Romanian Tennis Federation and to all the people involved in my development over the years."

Back in 2020, he commented to Eurosport Romania: "These are all my national champion shirts, five in total, and all my national champion diplomas. I have more than 120 trophies and more than 100 cups,” a 12-year-old Yannick said. “My favorite player is Roger Federer, but I would like to have something from Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal. But, of course, all this comes with work and dedication,"