French 22-year-old sensation Lois Boisson pulled off the biggest upset of the 2023 French Open on Monday. She defeated American world No 3 Jessica Pegula en route! Boisson was No. 361 in the world. Her win is a major achievement not only because it’s her grand slam debut but because of her amazing spirit following two years of rehabilitation from surgery.
The final championship match was held on the legendary Court Philippe-Chatrier, with the home crowd getting fully behind Boisson. After an intense two hours and 40 minutes, she secured her place in the quarterfinals by converting a crucial break-point opportunity at 4-4 in the second set. This crucial opportunity allowed her to equalize the game. It would be fitting indeed for her to close out the final with a crashing forehand winner down the line.
Boisson’s road to this moment has not been an easy one. Only a year prior, Smith had ACL and meniscus surgery, which cost her nine months on the shelf. She got her WTA Tour-level debut in April and has climbed up the standings fairly rapidly. Today, she is poised to achieve a career-best ranking of approximately No. 120 in the WTA rankings after this tournament.
This victory sends the 18-year-old Boisson to a second-round match against Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday. It enshrines her as the lowest-ranked female quarterfinalist at a grand slam since Kaia Kanepi at 2017 US Open. She is the first French wild card to make the quarterfinals of the women’s draw. Mary Pierce was the last player to do this in 2002.
During Boisson’s four main draw victories at Roland Garros, she has shown a stellar calm on crucial moments and key points. She showed off her nerves of steel and fire when she defended four break points serving for the match against Pegula just a day later!
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