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Boisson joins select group of surprise Grand Slam semifinalists

football04 June 2025 21:21| © AFP
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France's 361st-ranked Lois Boisson on Wednesday became the first wildcard to reach the women's semifinals at Roland Garros.

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Here, AFP Sport looks at women's players who overcame the odds to reach the last four and challenge for a Grand Slam title:

ELINA SVITOLINA, MOTHER OF COMEBACKS

Elina Svitolina returned in March 2023 after maternity leave following the birth of her daughter.

The Ukrainian was not ranked high enough to make the Wimbledon main draw and was given a wildcard.

She reached the semifinals after eliminating world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the eventual champion, ended her run in straight sets.

Before Svitolina, Germany's Sabine Lisicki (2011 Wimbledon), Belgium's Justine Henin (2010 Australian Open), Kim Clijsters (2009 US Open) and China's Zheng Jie (2008 Wimbledon) also reached Grand Slam semifinals as wildcards.

MONICA SELES, A PRECOCIOUS TALENT

Arriving at Roland Garros in 1989 to compete in her first Grand Slam aged 15, Seles reached the semifinals, where she lost in three sets to world No 1 Steffi Graf.

The young Yugoslav – who became a US citizen in 1994 – won in Paris the following year, gaining revenge on the German, defeating American Jennifer Capriati en route.

Like Seles in 1989 and Boisson this year, Capriati also reached the semifinals in her first major at Roland Garros in 1990.

They are the only three players to have achieved such a feat in a Grand Slam tournament since 1980.

EMMA RADUCANU, QUALIFIER TO CHAMPION

At the 2021 US Open, 18-year-old Briton Emma Raducanu became the first player in history to win a Grand Slam as a qualifier.

Ranked 150th in the world on her arrival in New York, Raducanu won the title against another surprise package, Canadian Leylah Fernandez – then ranked 73rd – without dropping a single set in 10 matches.

In the past decade, two other players have come through the qualifying rounds to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam – Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska at the 2024 Australian Open and Argentina's Nadia Podoroska at the 2020 French Open.

MARTINA TREVISAN, LAST SURPRISE PARIS SEMIFINALIST

In 2022, Italian Martina Trevisan arrived at Roland Garros brimming with confidence.

A week before the tournament, the world number 59 won her first and only title at the WTA 250 event in Rabat.

Thanks to the early eliminations of Tunisian Ons Jabeur, then world No 6, and 12th-ranked Raducanu, the 28-year-old from Tuscany enjoyed a draw clear of top seeds until the quarterfinals, where she eliminated world number 18 Fernandez.

The next step was too steep with American Coco Gauff sweeping her aside 6-3, 6-1.

MARY PIERCE, YOUNGEST FRENCH WOMAN

In what was already her fifth appearance at Roland Garros, Pierce reached the semifinals on the Parisian red clay at the age of 19 in 1994.

After defeating world No 1 Graf, Pierce reached the final, where she lost to Spain's Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

Amelie Mauresmo was also 19 when she reached the semifinals of the 1999 Australian Open – she lost in the final to Martina Hingis – and Brigitte Simon was 21 when she reached the semifinals at Roland Garros in 1978.

At 22, Boisson is the fourth-youngest Frenchwoman to book her ticket to the semifinals of a Slam event.

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