Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old French tennis player, has become an instant sensation as Roland Garros. She took the court at the tournament as the world’s No. 361 ranked player, gaining entry through a wild card. Now, she’s blooming into a fairytale Cinderella story worth rooting for by the host nation. Boisson’s tournament journey has already been historic. She is now the lowest-ranked player ever to make the fourth round since Serena Williams.
Win or lose, Boisson has exhibited outstanding tenacity and skill throughout her matches, setting historic milestones. She recorded her first career top 25 victory, shocking Elise Mertens in a 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-0 stunner. She stunned the tennis world by taking out world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the round of 16. Having dropped the opening set, her comeback from the brink was nothing short of spectacular. This upset launched her into the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. She is currently the lowest-ranked player to accomplish this since Kaia Kanepi, who was ranked 418th at the 2017 US Open.
That young athlete’s success becomes even more extraordinary when you learn about her from recent history. Such was Boisson’s stranglehold on the ITF series leading up to Roland Garros that she went on an 18-match win streak. He achieved a new career-high ATP ranking of No. 152. Only a week in advance of the tournament, she experienced an ACL tear. This exceedingly painful and shocking setback ultimately took her out of competition for nine months.
“I was going to play the tournaments that I have dreamed of since I started playing tennis. In the space of a week I went from ‘collapsed’ to the ground, the joy of winning my first WTA title, to ‘collapsed’ to the ground because my knee gave out and the pain was immense. The shock is violent, I didn’t imagine the rest of the season this way… But this is the path that life has decided to give me, now it’s time for discipline to get back to the top!” – Lois Boisson
Despite these challenges, Boisson has triumphed over formidable opponents, including two players with a combined total of 17 WTA singles titles. Her incredible streak has raised hopes for a serious main draw debut at Roland Garros, a right proper stage for her fiery spirit and why-the-hell-not attitude.
She faces world No. 6 and teenage prodigy Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. Whether Boisson’s supporters are looking for a third straight exciting chapter in her extraordinary story.
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