Upset at French Open: Wild Card Boisson Loses Out on $780,000 Prize Money
French Open Underdog Takes Center Stage
Meet Loïs Boisson, the wild-card entry that shook up Roland Garros on Wednesday. The 22-year-old French tennis sensation, ranked No. 361, sent shockwaves through the tennis world by defeating Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. This victory propelled Boisson into the semifinals of the 2025 French Open, her first-ever Grand Slam appearance, pocketing a massive $780,000 in prize money.
Prior to this, Boisson's total career earnings stood at a meager $148,009. With her phenomenal run at Roland Garros, she boosted her career earnings by over 5 times in just a week. The young pro had previously earned her largest paycheck, $16,000, from the 2023 French Open qualifiers. A victory at the much smaller L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo in 2024, earned her $13,040.
Before her Grand Slam debut, Boisson had never faced an opponent ranked within the top 50. However, after taking out Elise Mertens (No. 24), Jessica Pegula (No. 3), and Andreeva (No. 6), she is now 3-0 in such matches. Her remarkable journey pits her as one of the third-lowest ranked women to reach the semifinals of a major in the past three decades. Preceded only by former champions Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, who made deep runs at the 2009 U.S. Open and 2010 Australian Open, respectively, while returning from extended absences.
Receiving one of the eight wild cards awarded for each major by the tournaments themselves, Boisson representes the host country in this event. Players not in the top 104 or failing to win three consecutive matches in the qualifying draw often have to settle for wild cards. Yet these underdogs can still see a significant boost in their careers, especially in terms of earnings, with wild-card victories at majors. Boisson was initially slated to be a wild card in the 2024 French Open but was sidelined due to an ACL tear.
On Thursday, she will face Coco Gauff, ranked as Sportico's highest-paid female athlete in 2024, in the semifinals. The winner of the French Open will be awarded a hefty purse of $2.9 million. Let's hope Boisson continues her incredible journey and makes history at Roland Garros!
Did You Know?
- Loïs Boisson's remarkable run at the 2025 French Open has made her the first wild-card semifinalist at Roland Garros in the Open era.
- Kim Clijsters (2009 US Open), Jennifer Capriati (1990 French Open), and Alexandra Stevenson (1998 Wimbledon) are other notable examples of low-ranked players who reached the semifinals in major tournaments.
- Coco Gauff, Boisson's opponent in the French Open semifinals, was named as Sportico's highest-paid female athlete in 2024.
- Loïs Boisson's semifinal appearance at the 2025 French Open, as a wild card, marks her as the first wild-card semifinalist at Roland Garros in the Open era.
- In the semifinals of the French Open, Loïs Boisson will compete against Coco Gauff, who was named as Sportico's highest-paid female athlete in 2024.
