Less than a month later, Loïs Boishon was unsure if he could play for 2025 French Open.
She was ranked outside the top 500 and never played in the majors main draw. Boisson’s only hope was the wild card – and she didn’t expect it. However, the 22-year-old received it from the French Federation at her home.
Just a few weeks later, Boisson has one of the most memorable runs the tournament has ever seen. In the blink of an eye, she went from a virtual unknown sensation to a one-night sensation.
Playing in front of a fascinating and capable crowd at Philip Chatelier on Wednesday, Boisson became the first wild card in the open era, reaching the semi-finals at the French Open behind a 7-6 (6), 6-3 win over 6-3 seeded Mira Andreva. She is the third woman to reach the Final Four in her grand slam debut in the last 40 years.
When it was finished, Boisson fell to the ground, stretching his legs out of control as he covered his face with his hands.
“We are witnessing a star born right in front of our eyes,” said Chris Ebert, the 18-time major television champion.
After reaching the quarterfinals on Monday, Boisson told reporters that if she told her what she was trying to achieve, she wouldn’t have believed anyone before the tournament. But on Wednesday, she sounded much more certain of herself. And now, the most unlikely semifinalist will have the opportunity to further strengthen her name in the record book at the final spot, facing second seeded Coco Gough on Thursday.
And while others may consider her as Cinderella, she has made it clear that she is far from happy with what she has already done.
“Yeah, that’s a dream,” Boisson told the media after Wednesday’s game. “It’s true that I go for my dreams, because my dream is to win it, not be in the semi-finals. So I’ll try to do my best for it.”
She dreamed of winning the French Open as she was a young girl, but Boisson’s goal for the past few years has been simply to play in tournaments.
After a breakthrough start of the 2024 season, she was closer than ever to reach her goal after winning three ITF titles and 125 WTA titles with Saint-Malo. Her rankings soared to the career high of No. 152 (i.e., I mean), and her hard work paid off by wildcards in the French open. She was overjoyed.
A few days later, while playing in the first round of another WTA 125 tournament, Boishon’s dream instantly crashed as he tore the left ACL. The surgery continued quickly.
“I was finally really satisfied with the tennis court. () The process was going well, surrounded by great teams. I was going to play the tournament I’ve been dreaming of since starting tennis.” “In the course of a week, I went to the ground from “falling.” The joy of winning the first WTA title was “collapsing” to the ground as my knees developed and the pain was immeasurable. The shock is violent.
Recovery was sometimes slow and painful. She spent nine months away from the competition. Her rankings, which she worked so hard to achieve, fell quickly and she was eager to come back.
Boisson officially made his comeback in February and returned to Clay for his third tournament. Since switching to the surface, she has a 15-6 record, reaching the finals of two ITF events and won the title in the final tournament before arriving in Paris. (She also made a review due to the disappointing comments by Harriet Dirt, who lost the match in April, and the hilarious reaction to it.)
It wasn’t anywhere yet, but Boisson’s rankings have risen once again. She was ranked 361st in the world at the start of the French Open. However, few have seen her many chances of reaching the second round, with No. 24 seed Elise Mertens as her first round opponent. According to ESPN BET, she had a 1,000-1 odds to win the title first.
Boisson needed three sets, but she escaped Mertens 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, the biggest win of her career at the time. She later called the victory “a feeling that it is impossible to explain.”
Her confidence continued to grow in each match. Boisson only won Anhelina Kalinina in the second round for three total games. Playing French woman Elsa Jacques Mott in the third round, she had to fight back after being bageled in the second set. However, in the fourth round, she spoke to everyone, was a shocking victory over third seed Jessica Pegra, runner-up in the 2024 US Open.
Playing for the first time at Philip Chatelier – that is, for a practice session four years ago – and with a passionate crowd behind her firmly with the crowd, Boisson took advantage of her powerful top-spin forehand and impressive moves to fight after dropping the first set. She secured her first win over the top 10 players – even more noteworthy as she never did. Face Players ranked in the top 60 before the start of the tournament.
“She played really well,” Pegra said after the match. “She has won a lot of games, even at a low level rather than WTA level, but it really doesn’t matter if it’s tough in that moment, when she wins a game and how she plays.
On Wednesday with Andreva, the 18-year-old present who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2024, Boisson became the first player since Monica Ceres in 1989 to beat multiple top 10 players in his major main draw debut. Boisson is now the first French woman to reach the semi-finals of the tournament since Marion Bartoli in 2011, and has been playing rounds in every slam since the 1999 Australian Open Director Amelie Molemo.
What that means! 🇫🇷
Local hero Lloyds Boisson makes history at home! 💪
🔜 #RolandGarros Semi-finals 🆚Goff! pic.twitter.com/zc7lwnh0gf
– Roland Garros (@Roland Garros) June 4, 2025
“Yeah, I think now she’s probably showing that she’s a better player than she currently ranks,” Andreva, who was defeated, told reporters.
Women’s tennis is no stranger to surprise run in the majors. Emma Raducanu came through qualifying as a virtual unknown at the 2021 US Open to stun the world and win the title. Neither of Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova were seeded when they won their respective French open titles. Now even Iga Swiecsk, who won four times at Roland Garros, ranked 54th in 2020 when he first became the French Open Championship.
And it’s even more difficult with Cinderella-style running as elite players on the WTA Tour have become more and more consistent over the past few years. In fact, this French opening was the first time that all of the top eight seeds had reached their second week in the Grand Slam since Australia’s opening in 2005. Three other semi-finalists – Gouf, top-ranked Alina Sabalenka and three-time defending champion Sweet are all major champions and top three players in the game.
Boisson is currently projected to be 65th in Monday’s rankings. If she defeated Gouf, she climbed to number 35. The title, although at first glance, put her right outside the top 20. Last month, her career revenues were just $148,000. She has made roughly $787,900 over the last two weeks. You have the chance to compete in the final and become a one-night billionaire.
Gouff, who defeated the Madison Keys in three sets in Wednesday’s first quarterfinal match, did not know for certain who would play when he spoke to the media on Thursday. But it was clear that she was already preparing for Boisson – and she knew that nothing could be taken for granted.
“Obviously she has a great tournament,” said Gouff, who is about to reach her second final at Roland Garros. “I’ve had the experience of playing against a crowd that doesn’t cheer you on, and I’m looking forward to seeing if that happens… I think it’s something to be mentally prepared to see if it happens and be ready.”
Boisson told reporters he wasn’t prepared for Gauff, who was different from his previous opponent, and insisted he wasn’t thinking about the rankings.
No matter what happened on Thursday, Boisson’s career and life have definitely changed forever. With the ranking deadlines over, she won’t be directly at Wimbledon, but she almost guarantees her spot for almost every other tournament she wants to play in the near future. But on Wednesday afternoon, hours after the biggest moments of her professional life, she had no thoughts after the semi-final match.
And while others are surprised at how they achieved it in Paris, Boisson is not.
“I don’t think it’s a miracle,” Boson said. “I certainly have a bit of luck, but I think it’s a tough job to put in (IN) (IN) since I started playing tennis and started playing everything last year.
