While the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff surely enthralled tennis fans at the French Open, can you guess the third player who caught the eyes of the tennis world? Well, you guessed it right if it is Lois Boisson. The French tennis sensation carried the hopes of local fans on her shoulders, making it to the semifinal of Roland Garros. Although she lost tamely against the eventual champion Gauff, the 22-year-old had some thrilling wins against the likes of Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva earlier in the tournament. However, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, she was met with a snub of sorts.

Earlier today, Wimbledon announced the list of wildcards for the main draw of this year’s Championships. Excluding Boisson, who had a dream run in Paris, the tournament organizers handed most of the wildcard spots to local college players. This led to a huge backlash among fans, who criticized the tournament for prioritizing local talent over some promising names in the form of Boisson. However, Andy Murray’s mother Judy had other opinion.

Taking to her X account, she revealed, “Huge fan of this pathway. Allows young players to grow up + grow out in a student environment – education + team tennis = way more fun. Tough ask to go from juniors to success on 1st rungs of the pro tour + thrive.
James (from Edinburgh) became v successful college coach.”

In the women’s singles, Petra Kvitova was the only international player to receive a wildcard spot this year. Barring her, local players like Hannah Klugman, Mingge Xu, Mika Stojsavljevic, Francesca Jones, Harriet Dart, Jodie Burrage, and Heather Watson got direct entry into the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships. Hannah Klugman, Xu, and Mika Stojsavljevic will represent collegiate tennis on the big stage when they step out in the main draw of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Boisson’s snub and the inclusion of players from the collegiate system didn’t go down well with the fans. They took to social media to slam Wimbledon for poor selection of wildcards. While one fan termed the wildcard list as “poor”, other wrote, “What a pity! And a bid missed opportunity. several older uk players have had enough WCs I would say.”

However, this wasn’t the only bad news for Boisson. After her French Open heroics, she received a stern warning from Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

The real Wimbledon challenge starts now for Lois Boisson

With her wildcard snub, Lois Boisson would now have to battle it out in the qualifying draw of the Wimbledon Championships to gain an entry in the tournament. Although she had a dream run back home, it won’t be a cakewalk for her going ahead, warned Mouratoglou. Ahead of the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, the French coach sounded caution for his compatriot.

Mouratoglou said, “She’s tactically brilliant, and against Pegula, there’s no other reason why she won. She stayed emotionally composed when her opponents couldn’t. In her two biggest wins, she was the most stable player on court. That made the difference. Now comes the real challenge. She’s no longer the outsider. The underdog. The hidden gem. Expectations will rise, fast. Every result will be watched. Every loss questioned. Every win demanded. And that’s the hardest part for any player. Not what happens on the court, but what happens all around it.”

With Boisson becoming the new French No. 1, the onus lies on her to carry the hopes of her country at Wimbledon. Can Boisson repeat her heroics on the grass courts at Wimbledon? Let us know your views in the comments below.