Archive of posts tagged Paris

Boisson By the Numbers: Inside the 22-Year-Old Frenchwomans' Breakout RG Performance

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Lois Boisson, at 22, is in the midst of one of the most remarkable Roland-Garros runs in Open Era history. Coco Gauff

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday June 5, 2025

Paris – Lois Boisson is all the rage in Paris, after the 22-year-old Frenchwoman has surged into the semifinals on her Grand Slam debut. On Wednesday the grounds were teeming with excitement as grounds pass holders that couldn’t get into Chatrier to watch the match flooded into the Place des Mousquetaires and the courtyard in front of Court Suzanne-Lenglen to view the spectacle.

Tennis Express

Boisson won in dramatic fashion against Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday, coming from 3-1 and 5-3 down in the opening set, then saving a set point in the first-set breaker. She then rallied from 3-0 down in the second set, winning the final six games to become the first Frenchwoman to reach the semifinals in Paris since 2011.

Boisson’s ride to the semifinals is one of the most remarkable runs in Open Era Grand Slam history, and it isn’t over yet. She’ll face Coco Gauff for a spot in the final.

Here are some of the stunning statistical details that the Dijon, Frances native has achieved already.


With her win Boisson became the second player in the last 40 years to defeat multiple top-10 opponents at her maiden Women’s Singles Grand Slam event, after Monica Seles at Roland-Garros 1989.

Boisson is the first player in the Open Era to reach the Women’s Singles semi-finals at the as a wild card at Roland-Garros, and she could become the first wild card Grand Slam finalist since Justine Henin at the Australian Open 2010.

Excluding unranked players, Lois Boisson is the lowest ranked (#361) to reach a Women’s Singles Grand Slam semi-finals in the last 40 years.

Boisson is the third player since 1980 to reach the semi-finals at their maiden Women’s Singles Grand Slam main draw appearance after Monica Seles (Roland Garros 1989) and Jennifer Capriati (Roland Garros 1990).

Having played just two WTA level matches prior to Roland-Garros, Boisson is the player with the fewest WTA level matches played prior to reaching her maiden Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era, equalling Elisabeth Ekblom at the Australian Open 1976.

Bublik on Shock Roland-Garros Win – “Sometimes in Life There’s Only One Chance.”

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Alexander Bublik after surprising the tennis world, spoke with candor on reaching the Roland-Garros quarterfinals for the first time.Coach

By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Monday, June 2, 2025
Photo Source: Roland-Garros Facebook

The mercurial, crowd-pleasing talents of Alexander Bublik has now earned him worldwide attention after his shock four-set upset win over No. 5 seed Jack Draper to reach the Roland-Garros quarterfinals for the first time in his career.

Bublik, 27, celebrated his unexpected 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory with tears in his eyes as he became the first Kazakhstani man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in history.

"Sometimes in life there's only one chance, and I had a feeling that that was mine, and I couldn't let it slip," Bublik said in an on-court interview, after an extended standing ovation from the Court Suzanne-Lenglen crowd. "Standing here, it's the best moment of my life, period."

The final game of the match proved pivotal in more ways than one. Draper, still down a service break at 5-4, forced Rublev to serve for the match. Draper battled and held two break points, only to lose out on both. Rublev eventually closed out the game, and the match.

But Rublev admitted later on TNT Sports, if he had lost that game, he would likely have lost the motivation to try and win the match from there.

“I said to myself, if I'm losing that break, it's 7-5 6-2 max (in favor of Draper)," Bublik said. "I'm not gonna fight, because if you have this chance to make your first ever quarterfinal and you blow it. It's your fault. That's how I see it.”

Bublik, known for his unorthodox playing style, including underhand serves and trick shots, and rather cavalier personality, both on and off the court was not expected to be in the mix this fortnight in Paris. Though he’s reached a career high World No. 17, he’s currently ranked at No. 62.

Despite winning four ATP Tour titles in his career, 2025 has been a rough season so far. Before Paris, Bublik was 7-13 on the year.

Yet Bublik must have felt something good was coming for him in Paris after he earned a two sets from behind victory over No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur earlier in the second round. Bublik admitted he contemplated quitting tennis earlier this season after falling to the low 80s ranking wise.

While he previously complained about the clay court swing being too long, this year, he realized he needed to make an effort on the dirt to boost his ranking.

“I was eighty in the world. I was talking to my coach I want to quit tennis because I’m eighty in the world. It feels disgraceful for me,” Bublik said. “So I just said to myself, you have a gift, you gotta use your chances. If I have one, I'm gonna use it.

"I'm just gonna fight. I'm gonna try to play on clay and see how it goes and it worked like this, Because I had no room, you know, to cry. Because if you have room to cry, I always would take the cry, you know.”

Bublik added, “But when you have no options then it's that's how it works.”

Many tennis observers have questioned Bublik’s efforts on-court and off court throughout his career.

While Bublik confirmed he works hard off the court, he’s the first to admit that he prefers a “work/life” balance that includes his family. He can only speak for himself when it comes to determining what’s best for his life and career.

“There is no way around hard work. Don't get me wrong,” Bublik said in his post-match press conference. “I work hard, but on my terms, you know. I do what I'm capable of doing with my body, but I will not push through a knee injury in order to have, you know, a certain chance to win a certain match. So for me, there is no way around hard work. I have been working very hard, and I do work very hard."

Bublik, a proud father, added on TNT he tries to put tennis into perspective

“Tennis is fifty percent of my life, you know I have other part of being a dad, being a friend, which is have the same importance for me as being a tennis player," Bublik said. "So in this percent that I have as a professional athlete, I have to do maximum what my body is capable of.

"I'm not going to put my health on the line. I'm not going to be fighting through injuries. You know, if I have pain, I resign. I say thank you very much. I'm not going there.

"Because I prioritize my health a lot. And if you tell me, Sasha, you gonna win a Slam. But you can't walk at forty. I'm not going to take this. So then I have to work with the tools I have.”

Bublik next faces World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.

Paris | Gauff gets past Keys in scrappy quarter-final skirmish

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Wednesday dawned on a gloomy Paris, prompting French Open organisers to close the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier for the first quarter-final on Day 11, and, first up, was an all American clash between Australian Open champion Madison Keys and the World No 2, Coco Gauff, to determine the first semi-finalist of the the lower half of the women’s draw.

The post Paris | Gauff gets past Keys in scrappy quarter-final skirmish appeared first on Tennis Threads Magazine.

Today at Roland Garros Day 9

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Granby Tennis Club

Today at Roland Garros, the French Open was buzzing with high-stakes matches. In the women’s singles, Loïs Boisson created a stir by defeating the American No. 3 Jessica Pegula in a dramatic match. Ranked 361st, Boisson’s win by 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 was a major upset, making her the lowest-ranked woman to beat a top-five player at the French Open in four decades. She’s now set to face sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. The day also saw second-seeded Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, advance against Ekaterina Alexandrova. On the men’s side, No. 3 Alexander Zverev advanced due to the retirement of Tallon Griekspoor, who suffered an abdominal strain.

In other matches, tennis legend Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title, having already reached his 100th match win at Roland Garros, joining an elite group with Federer and Nadal. Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. The tournament is heating up as we approach the final stages, with fans eagerly following every serve and volley on the iconic clay courts of Paris.

Granby Tennis Club

Americans Land Eight in Roland-Garros Round of 16, Most Since 1985

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It's been a banner year for Team USA on the Parisian clay. Boisson

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday May 31, 2025

Paris – American tennis has smashed a record that stood for 40 years at Roland-Garros. Eight Americans – five women, three men – have reached the singles Round of 16 at the French Open for the first time in 40 years.

Tennis Express

The last time the Roland-Garros fourth round featured eight or more American players was 1985, also with five women and three men.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste reached the fourth round. On the men’s side, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe made it through.

The American men have placed three in the second week for the first time since 1995. All three Americans will be in action on Sunday in Paris, with Shelton taking on Alcaraz, Paul facing Alexei Popyrin and Tiafoe facing Daniel Altmaier.

On the women’s side, Anisimova will face Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.

Keys will face Baptiste in an all-American clash on Monday, Pegula will take on France’s Loic Boisson, while Gauff will face Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

Aryna Sabalenka: Quit Your Job

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World No. 1 sends clear message to former coaches.Amanda Anisimova

By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, May 30, 2025
Photo credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty

Tennis is an ongoing educational experience.

Today, Aryna Sabalenka schooled her skeptical teachers.

Tennis Express

World No. 1 Sabalenka tamed tricky lefty Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-3 powering into the Roland Garros fourth round for the third straight year.

Three-time major champion Sabalenka, who improved to a Tour-best 37-6 in 2025, will face former French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova in a blockbuster fourth-round battle between two massive hitters.

Today, Sabalenka sent major message to coaches who slammed her as too “stupid” to make her mark as a pro: Quit your job.

Recalling junior coaches who questioned her mental strength, Sabalenka told those skeptics: You know nothing.

“I always been quite motivated and they didn’t have to push me,” Sabalenka said of her rise through the ranks. “But I have heard a lot [of coaches] saying I’m not smart enough, that I’m stupid, and I’ll never make it, and I don’t have anything to make it to the top.

“I guess I want to send a quick message to them to quit their job.

“Because honestly, I think they know nothing and they better quit just to save other players.”

Asked how she reacted to critical coaches claiming she was too witless to be a winner on the WTA Tour, Sabalenka said she laughed in their face.

“I was just laughing and saying: We’ll see,” Sabalenka said.

A sharp Sabalenka has surrendered just 10 games in three tournament wins this week.

Following her crushing conquest of Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0 in her Roland Garros opener, Sabalenka shared her parents were never pushy about her career pursuit. However, the Belarusian said she saw demanding Eastern European coaches burn young players out.

“I definitely say that Eastern European school is very tough. I think that’s why whoever survive that school, they’re really tough,” Sabalenka said after round one.

On the one hand, Sabalenka said surviving her junior training made her a tougher competitor, but on the other hand she saw some fellow players broken by “brutal” coaches making punishing demands.

“I have to say that probably because of the environment and in the history of European countries, we are much tougher,” Sabalenka told the media in Paris. “Whoever got through the tough stuff, they, like, mentally and physically, they much stronger than probably, not like the rest of the world, but most of the girls on tour…

“I definitely think that the environment we have in our countries, which is like very tough and coaches are very brutal, you know, there is nothing nice about the way they, like, work with their players, they quite rude. I think that’s why maybe our mentality is much stronger, but also, the same time, they kind of like broke so many players because of that aggressive mindset.

“I think in Europe and the States, the environment is much healthier.”

 
Continuing her quest for a maiden Roland Garros crown, Sabalenka said she’s inspired by Grand Slam king Novak Djokovic still going strong at age 38 and was moved seeing the Big 4 reunite for Roland Garros’ royal celebration send off for King of Clay Rafael Nadal.

“Imagine if he gonna retire tomorrow, then everyone going to be sad, no? Don’t you think so?” Sabalanka said. “Then there is another like 10, 15 years to Jannik and Alcaraz to become one of the greatest. But just, you know, let him be.

“You know, it was so sad to see the ceremony, big four were on the court and you understand that three of them retired. Everyone missing their games.

“So let’s just let Novak to be there to show and fight and show his greatness and to inspire that generation.”