Tennis. Basketball, meteoric rise, Nadal, injuries… five things to know about Loïs Boisson

She comes from a family of basketball players

It’s safe to say that Loïs Boisson has sports in her blood. Before choosing tennis at the age of seven, her childhood was mainly influenced by basketball.

Her father Yann, originally from the Croix-Rousse neighborhood in Lyon, had a successful career as a professional basketball player in the late 80s, from Asvel to Tours, passing through Saint-Étienne and Dijon. He then transitioned to become a manager, general manager of Jeanne d’Arc Dijon from 1995 to 2008, and later the administrative director of AS Monaco from 2014 to 2020.

Her brother Anton has also been through the Roca Team and Aix Maurienne (Savoie) training, playing in Pro B, the second national level.

She has broken many records in Grand Slam

Loïs Boisson made a name for herself in the sports world during the 2025 edition of Roland-Garros. Invited by the organizers after a series of good results in the spring, the young Frenchwoman surprised everyone by defeating Elise Mertens, Anhelina Kalinina, Lyonnaise Elsa Jacquemot, Jessica Pegula, and Mirra Andreeva, respectively the 3rd and 6th world-ranked players.

Although her winning streak ended against Coco Gauff on the verge of the final, the Dijon resident set some records during the fortnight. Initially ranked 361st worldwide in the tournament, she became the least ranked semifinalist in a Grand Slam in at least 40 years. Previously, no invited player had reached the final stages of the Paris tournament. Monica Seles in 1989 was the only one before her to beat two top 10 players on her debut in a Major.

Boisson confirmed this rapid rise by winning her first WTA title a month and a half later in Hamburg.

She is a big fan of Rafael Nadal

“I have only one idol, Rafael Nadal,” said Loïs Boisson to the magazine Paris Match, a few days after her fabulous journey to the last four of Roland-Garros. She particularly admires the mental strength and speed of movement of the Spanish champion, who has won the event 14 times.

She grew up witnessing the achievements of the Majorcan on clay courts, developing a special preference for a surface she excelled on during her youth on the Côte d’Azur while her father was stationed in Monaco. Training at TC Beaulieu, the Élite Tennis Center in Cannes, and the Piatti Academy in Italy, she notably honed a devastating forehand tailored for clay.

She made headlines, albeit involuntarily

A few weeks before making her mark at the Paris Grand Slam, Loïs Boisson had already attracted attention. Her first victory on the main circuit at the WTA 250 tournament in Rouen on April 16, 2025, sparked controversy for unfortunate reasons.

“She smells really bad,” complained Harriet Dart during a changeover, Loïs Boisson’s opponent at the time. “Can you tell her to put on some deodorant?” the Briton had even suggested to the chair umpire, before publicly apologizing in the evening on her social media.

She is prone to injuries

Loïs Boisson’s progress has been hindered by numerous injuries, starting with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee two weeks before the 2024 edition of Roland-Garros, for which she had received an invitation. During her recovery and before making a strong comeback in the spring of 2025, the Dijon resident had the word “resilience” tattooed in capital letters on her right arm.

Unfortunately, this injury will sideline her for an extended period due to a “crossing syndrome,” a form of tendinitis in a friction zone between two wrist tendons, depriving her of the end of the season and the first part of the 2026 season.