Lois Boisson was ranked 361 in the world when she entered the French Open. She is guaranteed to be at least 68 by the end.
Her remarkable jump up the rankings is due to her performance during the tournament, which has seen her become the first woman to reach the semi-finals at a debut major tournament since 1989.
She is also the youngest French semi-finalist at a Grand Slam event since 1999, when Amelie Mauresmo neared the final stage of Wimbledon.
It has been no easy feat. Boisson has seen off the likes of third seed Jessica Pegula and, most recently, number six in the world, Mirra Andreeva.
The quarter-final match on Wednesday was a tense showdown between Boisson and Russia’s Andreeva, with the home crowd throwing their support behind the underdog, chanting “Lois, Lois” between points.
The French player twice found herself down a break but fought back each time, using heavy spin and deep ground strokes to trouble her opponent, who grew visibly frustrated.
Boisson will now face world number two, America’s Coco Gauff, for a place in Saturday’s final.
Before that, here is everything you need to know about the French wildcard.
A remarkable rise up the ranks
The 22-year-old began her career on the International Tennis Foundation (ITF) circuit in 2019 at the age of 16.
By 2024 she had started to rise up the ranks, thanks to three ITF titles at the start of the season.
In the same year, she qualified as a wildcard for the French Open, also known as the Roland Garros.
She had narrowly missed out on qualifying in her debut in 2021, reaching the second round of qualifying. In 2022 and 2023 she failed in the opening round.
‘Deodorant’ jibe
Before this year’s French Open, Boisson had already made headlines, after British tennis player Harriet Dart said she “smells really bad”.
The comments were made during the first round of the clay-court Rouen Open back in April, which Boisson won 6-0, 6-3.
Footage of the match showed Dart telling the umpire: “Can you tell her to wear deodorant? Because she smells really bad.”
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The British number four later apologised to her French opponent, saying on social media she “truly regretted” her comments, which were made in the “heat of the moment”.
Boisson quickly hit back with a tongue-in-cheek response, posting a photo on Instagram of her on court – with deodorant superimposed into the shot.
“Dove apparently need a collab,” she quipped – tagging the brand and throwing in a couple of emojis for good measure.
Comeback from injury
Boisson was supposed to make her Grand Slam debut in Paris last year, but she tore a knee ligament weeks before the start of the tournament and couldn’t compete.
She was out of the game for nine months and had to have ACL and meniscus surgery.
Her triumphant return to the sport began with her winning the W57 Saint-Gaudens title at the beginning of the season.
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Getting through the ‘difficult moments’
After scoring the winning point to send her through to this year’s French Open semi-final, Boisson fell to the floor and covered her face.
She later lifted her arms to take in the adoring crowds who had come to cheer her on.
In the post-match interview, Boisson said the triumph is “incredible”.
She said: “No matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through.”
