“Il n’y a plus from Frances to Roland Garros.” The French hear, year after year, the same sentence: “There are no more French in Roland Garros.” It symbolizes the fiasco of local tennis players, who have not won the French Open in Simples since 2000, in the female (with Mary Pierce), and 1983, in men (with Yannick Noah). In some years, the sentence is said in the round of 16.
This year, however, it has not yet been said, thanks to one of the biggest surprises in the history of the Grand Slam tournaments. Loïs Boisson (pronounced “Loís Casson”), 22, current 361st of the world ranking, disputes on Thursday (5) one of the semifinals against the American Coco Gauff, number 2 of the world.
On the way, Boisson eliminated the head of chair number 3, American Jessica Pegula (3/6, 6/4 and 6/4) and, this Wednesday (4), head number 6, Russian Mirra Andreeva (7/6 and 6/3).
“It’s amazing for me to have done it,” repeats the French with every post-game interview.
Daughter of a former basketball player, Boisson was detected at the age of 8 by coach Patrick Larose, who trained tennis player Jérôme Golard, Top 25 in 1999. “She was already a rock,” Dise Larose. The French has shown incredible emotional balance at decisive points. “I stay in my area,” he explains simply about his focus.
The feat was only possible because Boisson received one of the eight “Wild Cards” (invitations, in tennis jargon) granted each year by Roland Garros. Usually these invitations benefit promising local tennis players or veterans with insufficient ranking to enter the main key directly.
The Frenchman is the first tennis player to reach the semifinals of Roland Garros with a “Wild Card”. There are two precedents in the professional era, Belgians Kim Clijsters (US Open Champion in 2009) and Justine Henin (deputy of the Australian Open of 2010), but both already had consecrated careers and received the invitation because they were returning from retirement.
Boisson should have debuted in Roland Garros last year, but broke the anterior cruciate ligament of the left knee weeks before the tournament. Paradoxically, she attributes part of her success to the injury, which led her to seek a psychotherapist and work the mental part of her tennis.
Boisson’s feat is even more impressive because it is the first time it plays the main key of a Grand Slam. The last to arrive so far in the debut was American Jennifer Capriati in 1990, also in Roland Garros.
Next week, she will be the best French in the world ranking, even though she misses Gauff, gaining almost 300 positions on the list. If you are champion, you will jump to 21st place.
Until then, Boisson had only been noted by a grotesque incident in a match of the Rouen tournament in France last April. Her opponent, British Harriet Dart, asked the referee to send the Frenchwoman to pass deodorant. “She is stinking a lot,” he said.
When asked about the episode during Roland Garros, Boisson said he didn’t know on the spot. “Dove, apparently we need a collaboration,” posted the French on social networks. Dart apologized.
In the other female semifinal, there will be a classic between the current number one in the ranking, Belarussian Aryna Sabalenka, and Polish Iga Swiatek, number five and champion of Roland Garros in four of the last five years.
