A huge hit at the French Open

The world ranking of 361st surprised at the French Open.

The French Open women’s singles saw a real shocker on Wednesday, when Frenchwoman Loïs Boisson, who is participating in the tournament with a wild card, defeated world number six Mirra Andreeva in straight sets, 7–6, 6–3.

The match was played in front of a loud and strongly supportive French crowd. The atmosphere was said to have at times resembled a football match, ESPN says in its story.

The spectators cheered on the 22-year-old Boisson, shouting his name between points, waving French flags and even clapping for Andreeva’s mistakes. The Russian teenager vented his frustration by, among other things, throwing the ball into the stands and questioning the referee’s decisions.

– This is incredible. Thank you for this support, I am at a loss for words. I ran a little too much because I was so nervous at the beginning, but I fought hard in the first set, which was really intense. At the beginning of the second set I felt a little empty, but I persevered and finished it, Boisson said in a post-match interview.

History

According to ESPN, Boisson also became the first woman in history to reach the French Open semifinals with a wild card in the Open era (since 1968). She is also the first debutant to reach the women’s singles Grand Slam semifinals since Jennifer Capriati in 1990 and the youngest Frenchwoman in a Grand Slam semifinal since Amélie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999.

Boisson, ranked 361st in the WTA rankings, is the third-lowest ranked woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in the last 30 years, trailing only unranked Kim Clijsters (US Open 2009) and Justine Henin (Australian Open 2010).