Talented American Kaylan Bigun is shooting for the stars at the Roland Garros Junior Championships this week while figuring out how to build a NASA rocket during his downtime in Paris.

While the 18-year-old has committed to representing UCLA in the American collegiate system later this year, he has no plans on becoming an aerospace engineer.

Instead Bigun, whose encouraging form on clay continued on Tuesday when he won both his singles and doubles at the clay court Grand Slam, is tackling the project to relax.

To be clear, while putting together this rocket requires considerable brain power, the rocket in question is part of a puzzle and the latest Bigun is tackling it as a hobby away from tennis.

“It keeps me focused and relaxed at the same time. I find it better than just going and scrolling on my phone,” he said. 

“My dad bought me two LEGO sets here and I have already finished one and I have just started the other one. So it should be pretty cool. I think it's a good activity just to wind down after the craziness here.”

Putting together puzzles is not an uncommon habit for tennis players who are often tasked with finding solutions to complex problems on the court.

Mackenzie McDonald, who Bigun occasionally trains with at the USTA campus in Orlando, is a big fan of puzzles and built a six-foot version of the Eiffel Tower in his home in Florida.

Bigun, who recently claimed the boys' title at J500 Milan and defeated French wildcard Timeo Trufelli 6-1 6-2 in round two here on Tuesday, credits his strong form recently to growing experience.

This relates partially to the professionals the Los Angeles-based player trains with, including McDonald when he is in Florida and Marcos Giron when Bigun is back in California.

“I just ask them questions about the tour and what life is like, because there are so many weeks on the road,” he said. 

“I ask them how they manage an off week? How do they manage when they are in a tournament? Do they go out for dinners? 

“It is just overall questions about the tour and when we practice, I also ask them about my game and where they think I can get better and what I can improve on.”

It also includes the knowledge Bigun, who idolized Rafael Nadal as a boy and now admires Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, has gleaned while training on clay at the USTA base in Orlando. 

“It's helped me become more physical and I think it complements my heavy forehand and clay, overall, makes you really work the points,” he said. “You really have to move well in order to cover the court.”

The left-hander, who returned to the Roland Garros courts late on Tuesday to partner Jagger Leach to a first-round doubles win, was encouraged to play tennis by his father Dimitry.

When watching him flash ferocious forehands during his singles and doubles on Tuesday, it was not difficult to see the influence the 14-time Roland Garros champion Nadal had on him.

“My dad put a tennis racket in my hand when I was in the walker, when I was one year old, and since then I've been swinging around the forehand,” he said. 

“It's been a shot that I've obviously had to work on. But it's been a shot that I've been good at ever since I played.”

The experience of playing a French player at Roland Garros, who enjoyed strong support, was also something to learn from as he prepares to embark on a collegiate program.

“I came in expecting for there to be more people and for the crowd to get a little hyped up. But I just tried to keep it about tennis,” Bigun said.

“To be honest, it makes sport more fun. In other sports, you have crazy crowds and people saying whatever they want whenever they want, so I think it is good for tennis and it is good for us to learn how to play in these circumstances.”

A full set of results from the 2024 Roland Garros Junior Championships is available here.