Kolos Kincses has been one of the leading names on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour since 2019, when he made his first appearance on the 12 & Under circuit. Since then, the #1 Hungarian has reached a current high of #5 on the rankings thanks in no small part to his achievements this year. His list of accomplishments on the Tour is impressive and the numbers speak for themselves: 5 years on tour, 28 finals, 10 singles titles and 10 doubles titles.
BIOGRAPHY:
Age: 16 (born February 2007)
Place of Birth: Budapest, Hungary
Residence: Budapest, Hungary
Plays: Right-handed; double-handed backhand
Height: 189cm
Weight: 71kg
TE Singles Career Win/Loss: 116/44 (72.5%)
TE 2023 Singles Win/Loss: 28/5 (84.8%)
First and foremost, congratulations on your win here in Monte-Carlo! On the same court you won the Kinder Trophy 4 years ago! How does this feel?
Thank you very much! Well, I played tennis tournaments at the beginning of the year. I won two of them and we also qualified for the finals with the Hungarian national team at the Winter Cups, so I booked my place for the for the Masters. I think it’s the best way to end my Tennis Europe career: here and with a win!
That’s pretty good! We’re going to be sad to see you go! Just to go back to when you started, how did you first hear about the TEJT?
I think I started really early. I was 10 or 11 years old when I first played Tennis Europe and then I went by year by year, country by country. I had some good results. My highest 14&U Tennis Europe ranking was Top 10 and then under 16 top 10 as well.
Yes, you’ve always been near the top. Your name has always been up there.
Well, I didn’t have great European Junior Championships results. I’ve always had unlucky draws like Max Schoenhaus in the first round or Jan Kumstat in the first round or Linus in the first round… but the other tournaments were good.
In general, how has your experience been on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour?
I’ve been to a lot of prestigious tournaments like Les Petits As and I played Avvenire this year. I just love the big organization, the crowd and that there is some hype around the tournament and the matches. I think that these events are very well organized.
Is there anything you’re going to miss?
I made a lot of friends on the Tour and maybe I’ll meet them later on the ITF Tour as well. I saw that Alexander Zverev said the same, that when we’re younger, we hang out a lot and socialize a lot. Maybe I’ll miss that when we grow up, you know everyone will be more professional and just focusing on themselves.
Anything you won’t miss?
(laughs) Maybe … (thinking really hard)... I can’t think of anything.
OK, that’s good to know! Well, you mentioned your friends and we can see on social media and just from this tournament that you’re good friends with (Portuguese #1) Joao Morgado.
Yeah, this year I spent a lot of time with Joao, but I have a good relationship with all of the guys. You know, the first time you meet them maybe you’re not friends, but seeing each other at all the different tournaments, we end up talking a lot and we ask each other about where we’re playing or if they want to warm up together. And then after that, we get to know each other better.
Let’s talk about some of your ambitions for the near future...
In the second half of this year, I’ve played a lot of ITFs so my ITF ranking is also pretty good now, it’s almost at #250. So next year, maybe not the Australian Open, but I will try to make it to the junior Grand Slams and also play a lot of ITFs, the higher-level ones let’s say. I just want to be better and the best that I can.
How do you combine schooling and education with tennis, training and traveling and so forth?
Thankfully, my school is very cooperative. So, they allow me to go to training in the morning and in the afternoon as well, but I do normal school. In the morning I go to practice and then I go to school and then I go back to practice.
So you must make sure you’re at school on time?
Yes (laughs) and If I get good grades, then I don’t have to do exams!
So, you must study really hard. Are you a good student?
Yeah, pretty good … I get “A”s.
Well, that’s good. What kind of subjects do you like or dislike?
I am more into history and languages, and I learn Italian.
Can you say anything in Italian? Are you fluent?
(Laughs) No, no, no … I’ve only been studying for a year and a half. And what I don’t like, well we don’t have chemistry and physics now, but when I had that … well, it’s not for me!
You’re from a tennis family. Your brother was in Milan as your coach/hitting partner, and plays college tennis in the US - is that something you want to do, or would you like to try a different avenue?
For now, I want to be a professional. Of course, I will try to achieve that as best I can. Maybe we’ll see and if it doesn’t work then I’ll try the college route. But my main goal is to try and be on the ATP tour.
Are there any players that you look up to, maybe from this generation if not the preceding one or any other generation?
Well, nowadays, I like more of the younger generation, players like Jannick Sinner. Alcaraz as well, but I prefer Sinner.
I don't know if you emulate him, but you also seem kind of cool, calm and collected on the court like him. That's nice to see.
Yes, that's impressive to see, especially for how young they are.
Do you have any hobbies or anything that you like to do to relax or disconnect from tennis?
Well, I love to do other sports. It doesn't matter what kind of sport it is. I like to play basketball and football. I go swimming sometimes, or even skiing but it doesn't matter as long as it is sport. And I also really love listening to music or just hanging out with my dog.
Photo: Kincses with his dog, Mokka.
Before we go, do you have any advice for young kids who maybe want to start playing tournaments? What would you suggest they do?
I think it's totally worth playing Tennis Europe. You won't lose anything by playing these tournaments. You'll see and if you like it, you can keep on playing. If you achieve something positive, it just gives you joy. What is harder is getting used to losing, but just go to tournaments to get the experience and enjoy yourself. Maybe sometimes you don't enjoy it too much when you're losing, but you do have to go through these things.
So, what are your long-term goals or dreams?
My dream is to play all the grand slams and be a top 100 player for a long time and just to maximize my potential.
Great! Thanks for your time and congratulations again on your Junior Masters win!