The 2025 French Open will live long in the memory of French player Lois Boisson.
The rank outsider was handed a wildcard for the event, 12 months on from a cruel ACL injury sustained just one week before the 2024 Roland Garros extravaganza.
Boisson set about making amends for the year she missed by flying through the draw all the way to the semi-finals, where she eventually lost to Coco Gauff.
The 22-year-old defeated Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva and Elise Mertens en route to the last four, and it really was a fairytale tournament from her perspective.
Any new fans she picked up at the French Open might have been hoping to see Boisson at Wimbledon, but now that prospect is firmly in the balance after she was overlooked for a wildcard.
Lois Boisson told she doesn’t deserve a Wimbledon wildcard
CoCo Vandeweghe is a former player who called time on her career back in 2023.
This decision not to give Boisson a wildcard by the Wimbledon authorities has caused a stir, but the former world number nine doesn’t agree.
She believes the fact that her exploits on the clay in France shouldn’t earn her an automatic wildcard pick for Wimbledon.
She said on the Tennis Channel: “CoCo Vandeweghe: No. Because it was on clay and not on grass.
“This is a wonderful Cinderella story, but there has been no data that Lois Boisson would ever do anything on the grass courts.
“That is what I always enjoyed about Wimbledon. Usually, they would give a wildcard to somebody who did well in the weeks leading up to Wimbledon.
“I thought honestly that Victoria Mboko would get one, she is a youngster coming up, she has won and beaten a lot of players in a couple of tournaments.
“She went on a crazy 20-match win streak without losing a set, leading into Rome and then continued that on until she lost to Coco Gauff.
“I think there are plenty of deserving players, I just don’t think Boisson is one of them.
Boisson could take back door to Wimbledon shot
The French star could head to qualifying next week to try and earn a place in the main draw.
However, after producing the goods at the French Open, she might choose to skip the grass court season and instead prepare for the US Open.
Boisson is now the world number 67 after rising through the ranks after her semi-final run in Paris, but the cut-off for Wimbledon came before the tournament.
It would be a shame to see Boisson not even attempt to qualify for Wimbledon, but switching from clay to grass isn’t easy even for the great players on the tour.
After her run in France, Boisson’s confidence must be sky high and it will be intriguing to see whether she decides to play or not.
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