Frenchwoman is the new World No. 65!
French breakout star Lois Boisson broke a historic record this past week at the 2025 French Open, becoming the player with the biggest rankings jump into the Top-100 this century. The 22-year-old, who was completely out of the picture a year ago, proved at Roland Garros that resilience and determination beats all. As the saying on Court Philippe-Chatrier goes, “Victory belongs to the most tenacious!”
Boisson was previously in the headlines after British star Harriet Dart infamously told the chair umpire at their Rouen Open encounter to ask the Frenchwoman to “wear deodorant.” But after stunning the world with her impeccable clay court prowess, nobody will be talking about that anymore. With wins over the likes of Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva, Boisson was one of the talking points of the entire competition.
While Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff stole the show on Saturday, it was Lois Boisson who made the biggest gains. Thanks to her incredible underdog story on home soil, the Roland Garros semifinalist made a 296-spot jump in the WTA Rankings to No. 65 – the largest rise into the Top-100 this century. Her previous career-high ranking was No. 152 in the world, which she achieved last May before an injury lay-off.
Entering as a wildcard, Boisson became the first player since Jennifer Capriati in 1990 to reach the final four on their Grand Slam main draw debut. Initially slated to compete at the red dirt major last year, an ACL surgery forced her out of tennis for an extended period. Ranked No. 361 before the French Open, Boisson is the lowest ranked semifinalist at a Grand Slam in 40 years (unranked players not included).
After her win over No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula last week, the young French starlet was asked about playing on one of the biggest courts in the world. She reiterated that while it was unbelievable at first, her belief in her own ability carried her over the line. “I trusted myself, but if you had said that [she will play on Court Philippe-Chatrier and reach the QFs] I couldn’t believe it. But now I’m so happy about it.”
She continued, “I really thank the FFT, because without this wildcard I could not play this tournament. So it’s unbelievable to have had it. I’ll take my chance and I will go further. From the beginning, I trusted myself [against Pegula].”
Boisson finally fell in straight sets to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the semifinal stage. Regardless of the outcome, it was undoubtedly a privilege for tennis fanatics to witness a French superstar in the making!
