"I can really feel the excitement around me" - Lois Boisson excited for return to Roland Garros now injury issues have subsided

This time last year, Lois Boisson was ranked 361 in the world heading into her debut Grand Slam campaign at Roland Garros. She upset some of the biggest names enroute to a famous semi-final run. While this have not panned out as expected since, she still has the belief and motivation to repeat those events from last year.

Among the players she defeated, top 10 players Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva were some of her victims on the way to the last four where eventual champion Coco Gauff halted her dream run.

Boisson has only recently made her return to the court, sealing her first win of 2026 at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She would win her opening match against Wang Xinyu before losing in straight sets to Victoria Mboko. She made a comeback after last featuring in the China Open with injury being the protagonist.

Those doubts have been shelved as she looks to conjure up another miraculous run on home soil. "Physically, I’m feeling good. Recently, I’ve finally been back at 100%, so I’m really happy about arriving here in those conditions," she said in her press conference.

"The match against Mboko, and my two matches in Strasbourg, allowed me to get more matches under my belt and find my rhythm on court again. I’m just happy I was able to play those matches to build confidence in my game, my rhythm and the way I play. You can only really regain that through matches, so I’m happy I got to play them."

With all the hype last year being new to her at this level, Boisson hid in a bubble with her team, protected from the noise outside. The bubble still has not burst. "As far as putting myself in a bubble during tournaments goes, no, that’s still the case for me. Even more so at the big tournaments, where you know there can be a lot happening around you. I still have the same mindset: I try to do as little as possible outside the tennis and focus on myself and my game.

"Of course, over the year, a lot of things happened where sometimes you don’t really have a choice because we’re very exposed. But whenever I arrive at a tournament — especially a big one — the goal is to focus as much as possible on tennis."

However, there is always going to be attention around a French tennis player competing at Roland Garros whoever you are. Boisson certainly feels it. "Yes, definitely. I can really feel the excitement around me," she acknowledged. "I noticed it in Strasbourg. I think it was the first time I’d played in France again since Roland-Garros last year. I really felt the crowd was there for me and supporting me. That’s something I’m really happy about because it helps me a lot. Those are the kinds of atmospheres where I know I can raise my level even more. So I’m really happy about that."

From that famous Roland Garros run, things have not gone to plan for the 23-year-old. "It started very well, obviously," she explained. "I was already coming back from injuries at that point, but things moved quite quickly. I found very good feelings on court again and was able to play a lot of matches in a row."

That is when the setbacks kicked in. "That was until December. The season itself went well, but the start of 2026 didn’t go well. I had another injury that kept me away from the courts, so honestly, the beginning of the year was difficult. Today, I’m here and I’m fit. I know I’m lacking rhythm and matches, but I also know that now I have everything I need to start playing consistently again. It’s just a matter of time."

That quadriceps injury suffered in Beijing was a blow, but another leg injury that soon followed drew concerns over how long she would be on the sidelines. They were up in the air at one point on whether Boisson would be able to return in time for Roland Garros. Thankfully, she was.

"This injury was different from all the others I’ve had because I simply didn’t know. There wasn’t a clear timeframe. There were a few mistakes, and it was also the kind of injury where there isn’t really a precise recovery timeline," she stated.

"That uncertainty was mentally very difficult — not knowing, living in the unknown day after day, week after week, month after month. There were moments where I thought it could become very complicated for months, maybe even years. But overall, things moved fairly quickly, and deep down I always believed that everything heals eventually and passes at some point. I just hoped it would happen as quickly as possible."

She will keep that same mindset and belief with the hopes of repeating that success. "Last year, I said it myself — it was exceptional, of course. But deep down, I also knew I was capable of it. I had never done it before, so it was exceptional because it had never happened. People couldn’t really believe it, but my team and I knew it was potentially possible.

"This year, the conditions are obviously different. But every year is different anyway. You never arrive at tournaments in exactly the same conditions. Still, I keep the same mindset: everything is possible. I can go all the way, or I can lose in the first round. You never know. So we’ll just see what happens."

Boisson will take on the world number 22 Anna Kalinskya in the first round. She will be the underdog for this with just one win in 2026 and not a lot of tennis having been played. "It depends. I’ve always said that every opponent has a ranking and a number next to their name, but that doesn’t always mean very much," she said.

"So yes, on paper, that’s how it is. But it depends so much on the day, on the opponent and on how you feel yourself. I think rankings can simplify things a bit too much sometimes. But yes, on paper, I’ll be the outsider."

One thing she will have constantly on her side in the French tennis fans. Cheering her the whole way through the tournament will give her a decisive edge over fellow competitors. A return to Court Philippe-Chatrier is also something long-awaited, albeit it is not her decision.

"That doesn’t depend on me — other people make those decisions," she admitted. "But honestly, whichever court it is, I’m already happy just to be here. Of course, I felt very good on Chatrier last year, but I also felt good on the other courts here. I think all the courts are exceptional, so I’m happy wherever I play."