Australian Adam Walton takes tennis lessons next to horses and is a ‘late bloomer’ | French Open 2026

AMum Walton’s phone has barely stopped pinging in the past 24 hours after the 27-year-old Australian caused a huge upset at the French Open with a stunning first-round win over Daniil Medvedev. It was only his fourth victory at grand slam level, his first victory over a top 10 player and by far his best victory in terms of ranking.

“It was pretty crazy,” Walton told Guardian Australia as he sat in a small section of the media center at Roland Garros, a day after his stunning five-set victory over the former world No. 1. “There was a lot of media around the match and a lot of messages. It’s great to see them all, everyone was doing their best. I haven’t had a chance to respond to them all because obviously I’m still in the tournament and just trying to stay as locked in as possible.”

Many of the congratulatory messages will undoubtedly come from Home Hill, the small town where Walton was born and grew up. With a population of approximately 3,000, it is located 100 km south of Townsville and approximately 1250 km from Brisbane. Although he moved to the capital as a 14-year-old, Walton spent his formative years in Home Hill, where he learned to play tennis at the age of five with his brother Jack in one of the most unique environments imaginable.

“The tennis courts are located on a race track,” Walton said, adding that the location occasionally caused logistical problems. “On the mornings before our lessons, we had to wait until the horses got to the other side of the track before you could open the gate, drive through and close the gate so they wouldn’t get spooked. It’s something unique to Home Hill tennis. It’s great.”

As a sports-mad kid – he played cricket, swimming and rugby – Walton said he was never good enough at any of those sports to consider playing them professionally. He loved tennis and fed off the achievements of other Queenslanders, including Nick Kyrgios, who was already highly regarded when he rose up the junior ranks.

“Nick is only a few years older, but we watched him on TV,” he said. “He was always exciting to watch [especially] Way back when he was at his peak, he clearly did great things in the sport. There have been a few Aussies, like Lleyton [Hewitt] and Ash Barty, most recently, who have done really well from Queensland who I looked up to.”

Walton moved to a boarding school in Brisbane at the age of 14 on a scholarship and later attended the University of Tennessee. There he improved year after year, finishing with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and an excellent college record, winning the 2021 NCAA doubles title.

“I’m a bit of a late bloomer,” he says. “I was never a good junior, never played any of the junior slams or did European junior trips or anything like that. If I hadn’t gone to university I don’t think I could have continued with tennis.”

Walton broke into the top 100 in 2024, but has hovered at or around the same level since then. At his press conference after beating Medvedev, he said his short-term ambition is to be in the main draw of each of the grand slams. Of the just over $2 million Walton has earned in his career, nearly half has come from the four majors.

“I could be wrong, I haven’t looked at the numbers, but I’m going to say that most players around my ranking and kind of status would have similar numbers,” he said. “That’s a large portion, 50% comes from just four tournaments within the year. Grand Slams pay considerably more than the rest of the other tournaments.”

“We all want to do well at the Slams because that’s where all the money and points are. For me, being in the main draw at the Grand Slams in recent years has been great financially.”

Reaching the second round at the French Open guarantees Walton €130,000 (A$212,000) and means he can invest more in himself, plan his travel for the coming year and pay his coach. It will also help with the costs of his upcoming wedding to fiancée Rachel in November.

On Thursday in Paris, Walton will face American Zachary Svajda, a man he practiced with at Roland Garros this week and knows well, losing two of their three matches on the ITF circuit. “It will be new for both of us,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for both of us. It will be an exciting match. We both know what is at stake.”