Lois Boisson is a top-50 player. But her road back to the French Open hasn’t been an easy one. After almost seven months away due to injuries, she is heading into the tournament with a very realistic mindset.

“We’ll see what happens next. Last year, I was already coming back from injury, and I quickly found a good feeling,” she told the media in Paris. “This year, of course, the conditions are still different, but I remain in the same state of mind: everything is possible. I can go all the way, or I can lose in the first round.”

It is a tough thing to admit for someone who has bounced back before. Last year, she shocked everyone by reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros. It was right after returning from a torn ACL. Now, she has to go through that grind all over again. Last year, she played through a left adductor issue until the China Open in September, when a quad tear forced her out. She eventually returned to the court at the Madrid Open.

Despite not being in the best of form, Boisson is optimistic about her performance heading into the Roland Garros.

The 23-year-old looked in much better shape than before at the Strasbourg Open, where she defeated Xinyu Wang 6-3, 7-6. Despite suffering a 4-6, 3-6 defeat to Victoria Mboko in the R16, Boisson feels that the two matches she played helped a lot in her preparations for her Roland Garros campaign.

“I feel good. I’m happy to be here and can’t wait for the tournament to start,” she told the reporters. “Physically, recently, I’m finally at 100%. The two games I was able to play in Strasbourg this week did me good. It allowed me to find my rhythm and confidence in my game. And I’m very happy to arrive in these conditions.”

Boisson then opened up about recovering from the injury that she had sustained last year and remarked that the setback took a mental toll on her body. While undergoing recovery, she had also reconnected with her former coach, Florian Reynet, and had reunited with him in April just before the clay swing. Though Boisson hasn’t played a lot since returning in April, she believes that her strong mentality can guide her to the later stages at the upcoming French Open.

“It was difficult to live mentally because I didn’t know anything. This is the kind of injury for which we cannot really know the precise time frame for healing. I was a bit in the unknown every day. I reconnected with my former coach (Florian Reynet) because I had lost a lot of my bearings, and I felt the need to surround myself with people who knew me from before. It did me a lot of good.

Boisson has only participated in four tournaments this year and currently has a win-loss record of 1-4. She had failed to make it past the first round in WTA events held in Madrid, Rome, and Parma. Despite winning only one match in the last eight months, she is still ranked No. 50 and thus got a direct entry into the main draw of the French Open.

However, it won’t be easy for Boisson to make it past the opening round of the Grand Slam as she has been drawn against a formidable opponent.

Lois Boisson will face a tough challenge in the first round of the French Open

Boisson is set to lock horns against World No. 22 Anna Kalinskaya in the first round of the Roland Garros. Though the two have never faced each other in a tour-level match before, the latter will still be the favorite to win the match.

Unlike Boisson, Kalinskaya has been pretty active on the tour this year. While the Russian hasn’t been in great form herself, she had recently racked up remarkable wins over Katerina Siniakova and Belinda Bencic at the Italian Open. Though Jelena Ostapenko eliminated her in the R16, it was still an impressive campaign for the 27-year-old.

Kalinskaya has a decent win-loss record of 4-3 on clay this season and will be aiming to end the season on a high note by making a deep run at Roland Garros.

Will Kalinskaya go on to make a strong start to her French Open campaign, or will Boisson cause a major upset in the opening round itself? Drop your predictions in the comments!