She is the discovery of this year's French Open at the Stade Roland Garros! Frenchwoman Lois Boisson was only ranked 361st in the world before her Grand Slam debut in her home country - and thrilled her fans with five wins to reach the semi-finals. An incredible Cinderella story that is now set to continue in Hamburg. The 22-year-old has received a wildcard from tournament director Sandra Reichel for the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2025 from 13 to 20 July at Hamburg's Rothenbaum. The French high-flyer now wants to continue her run of success in Hamburg.
It's a story straight out of a fairy tale. The name Lois Boisson was only known to tennis insiders before the second Grand Slam tournament in 2025. Due to a cruciate ligament injury, the 1.75 metre tall right-hander from Dijon had to take a nine-month forced break and only returned to the tour in February. Accordingly, she needed a wild card at Roland Garros to make it into the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. With her unorthodox game and extreme spin, especially on the forehand side, she worked her way through the tableau and caused one of the biggest surprises in recent tennis history with her run of success. On her way to the semi-finals, she defeated two top ten players, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva, in succession and only had to concede defeat to the eventual winner Coco Gauff. In doing so, she pulverised a whole series of records. She was the first player since 1989 to reach the final round on her Grand Slam debut. She also became the youngest Frenchwoman to reach the semi-finals in Paris since Amélie Mauresmo in 1999.
"I'm so proud of myself because it was really hard to reach the semi-finals. Every match was very close. I'm just proud of what I've achieved on the court," summarised Boisson after the most successful tennis weeks of her career. Thanks to her success at the French Open, Boisson has worked her way up to 65th in the world rankings and will be able to take part in the world's biggest tournaments in the coming weeks and months.
After deciding to take part in the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open at short notice, she was given a wildcard by tournament director Sandra Reichel. "I'm delighted to be able to play in Hamburg for the first time. It's a great stage and a real challenge that I'm really looking forward to. I've seen pictures of the centre court, it looks really impressive. I will be well prepared and give it my all. Thank you very much for letting me take part - see you very soon!" said Boisson ahead of her participation in the traditional event in the Hanseatic city.
"We are incredibly proud to welcome Lois to Hamburg. For me, she has written one of the tennis stories of the year and has enormous potential. I am sure that she will thrill the fans in Hamburg with her exceptional game - she has a good chance of going really far in Hamburg," explains Tournament Director Sandra Reichel.