Samuel aiming to build on maiden Grand Slam appearance

Toby Samuel believes that he is far from the "finished product" as he attempts to continue his rise up the ATP rankings following his Grand Slam main debut at the French Open.

Winchester-born Samuel came through three rounds of qualifying at Roland Garros, before losing to world number eight Alex de Minaur in the first round proper.

The Parisian run gave Samuel a pay check of over £75,000, and continues a strong run of form that has seen the 23-year-old move into the world's top 150, having been ranked outside the top 1,000 at the beginning of 2025.

Now, he wants more.

"I don't think I am near the finished product," Samuel told BBC Radio Somerset.

"I did not play my best against him [de Minaur], but I still felt I could have taken a set, which is a positive because it shows the level isn't crazy different.

"The guys at the top are just more experienced, and smarter on the court – you have to show up and play well, they don't give you any breaks."

Not that fate had given Samuel many slices of luck on run to the main draw, where he had to defeat the qualifying seventh seed, and then former ATP world number seven David Goffin en route to the 128-player first round.

"I am now very happy with how I managed to get through that," Samuel said.

"The amount of support I got after I qualified was incredible. It was bittersweet to draw Alex [de Minaur]. Part of me wanted to go further, but I got to play a player top 10 in the world, which I had not done before.

"Next year I will be more confident, and more comfortable getting exposure at that level - that's where I want to be in the future."

As well as giving Samuel the opportunity to rub shoulders with the sport's biggest stars in the locker room - something the Bath-based player called "surreal" - he says the best part is that he got to share it with his family, coaches and friends.

Samuel missed much of 2024 through injury and said the frustration of being out of action meant he could enjoy his current success even more.

"There were times after my injury when I was doubting if I was going to make it, I was low on confidence, so I am super proud looking back that I stuck it out and kept working hard," Samuel added.

"A year ago I was hoping to be top 400 or 300 at this point, and nowhere near playing Grand Slams, so it's kind of incredible."

Samuel will be hoping that Grand Slam appearances will be like London buses, and he will now move onto the grass court season looking to a secure a maiden singles main draw berth when Wimbledon begins next month.

Major tournaments usually require a player to be ranked in and around the top 100 six weeks out from the start of the event to gain automatic entry into the first round, without having to go through qualification or wildcard process.