How Many Wild Cards Have Made French Open Semifinals? Lois Boisson Makes History

The unheralded Dijon, France native is the story of the tournament.
Lois Boisson celebrates her fourth-round upset of Jessica Pegula.
Lois Boisson celebrates her fourth-round upset of Jessica Pegula. / Susan Mullane-Imagn Images

From a narrative standpoint, the 2025 French Open has belonged to France's Lois Boisson.

Boisson—ranked No. 361 in the world—made her first major tournament as a wild card. She upset Belgium's Elise Mertens 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 in her first-round matchup; since then, she's just kept on winning.

On Wednesday, Boisson continued her Cinderella run by stunning sixth-seeded Russian Mirra Andreeva 7–6 (6), 6–3. With the win, she became the first woman to reach the French Open singles semifinals as a wild card since open play began in 1968, per Stats Perform.

The previous furthest run by a female wild-card came in 2002, when France's Mary Pierce—the 2000 tournament winner—made the quarterfinals.

Boisson's next opponent is Coco Gauff of the United States, the 2023 U.S. Open champion and the French Open runner up in 2022. With just one WTA finals appearance under her belt—a challenger tournament in France in 2024—it's safe to say Boisson is in uncharted territory.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .