France s 361st ranked Lois Boisson stuns Mirra Andreeva to reach French Open semi finals

PARIS – France’s Lois Boisson, ranked 361st in the world, was thrilled as she continued her dream run at the French Open on June 4 by defeating world No. 6 Mirra Andreeva to advance to the semi-finals.

The home favourite won an exciting battle 7-6 (8-6),6-3 against her Russian opponent and advances to meet former US Open champion Coco Gauff on June 5 for a place in the final.

Significantly, Boisson is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a Major semi-final in 40 years, and the third woman to advance to this stage at a Grand Slam debut since 1980 – following Monica Seles in 1989 and Jennifer Capriati in 1990.

She is also the first Frenchwoman to reach the last four since Marion Bartoli in 2011.

“It was amazing to feel supported like this. There are no words to describe that feeling. Whatever the situation for me last year, it’s unbelievable to come from there,” said Boisson, who was due to play at the 2024 French Open but suffered a knee injury a week earlier.

“Thanks to all my team. I was so tense, I fought hard, the first set was very intense and at the beginning of the second set I was very tired. But I was able to recover.”

The Frenchwoman had won just one match on the WTA Tour before Roland Garros. Her ranking will jump from 361st to around 65th after this victory.

The 22-year-old had already eliminated American third seed Jessica Pegula on the red clay of Paris, with the wildcard entry extending her run against last season’s semi-finalist Andreeva.

“My routine won’t change, it’s been the same since the start of the tournament,” Boisson added of her preparation for the semi-finals.

She will take lessons from her match against Andreeva, however.

A dramatic