
became the latest top player to suffer a huge upset at the French Open. In her first ever Grand Slam main draw appearance, world No. 361 Lois Boisson has booked her spot in the quarter-final after coming from a set down to take out the third seed.
This time a year ago, the French wildcard tore her ACL a week before Roland Garros and was forced to miss her home Slam. But, in a tournament full of upsets, Boisson has arguably caused the biggest yet as she stunned Pegula 3-6 6-4 6-4.
After being unable to use her wildcard in 2024 because of her injury, Boisson returned to Roland Garros this year, and she's made the most of her free pass into the main draw.
The world No. 361 had already caused an upset this fortnight, beating No. 24 seed Elise Mertens in the opening round. She stormed into the second week with wins over Anhelina Kalinina and fellow Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.
Pegula, the No. 3 seed and Grand Slam finalist at the US Open, was a step up. The American raced through the opening set, breaking Boisson three times.
But, spurred on by the 15,000-strong Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd, the wildcard forced a decider and recovered after blowing an early break lead. In a marathon game, Boisson converted her fourth break point to serve for the biggest win of her career.
The 22-year-old was made to work to pull off the upset, saving four break points before she finally got the job done after two hours and 40 minutes on court, ripping a winner down the court and roaring in delight.
The main showcourt at Stade Roland-Garros broke out into chants of Boisson's name before the delighted wildcard addressed the home crowd through tears.
"To play on this court with such an atmosphere was incredible," she told former world No. 11 Alize Cornet, conducting the interview.
"I believed in myself before the match, I knew what I could do even if she is super strong. I gave everything I had and it worked, it is incredible."
Now through to the last eight in her Grand Slam debut, Boisson will take on sixth seed Mirra Andreeva.
The breakthrough star is set to rocket up the rankings to around No. 120 in the world. Her previous career-high was No. 152.
Currently sitting at No. 361, Boisson is the lowest-ranked woman to reach the quarter-final here in 40 years and the second wildcard to reach the the last eight in the women's singles draw after Mary Pierce in 2002.
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