Lois Boisson loses in the first round of the US Open

France's Lois Boisson faces Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic during their women's singles first round match at the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on August 26, 2025. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP

Loïs Boisson, the revelation of the last edition of Roland-Garros, was eliminated in the first round of the US Open on Tuesday, August 26, by the Swiss Viktorija Golubic, world ^number 72, who won with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.

A little less than three months after her surprise semi-final in Paris, when she started the tournament ranked ^361st in the world, the current French number 1, now ^46th in the WTA rankings, lost on the hard courts of the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, which she was playing for the first time, at the age of 22.

Eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying at the end of June, on a grass court she was new to, the clay court specialist delivered a convincing start to the match on court number 10.

Loïs Boisson quickly broke her opponent's serve, gaining an advantage that she maintained until the end of the first set. The second set was closer, with neither player losing serve, despite opportunities on both sides. The 32-year-old Swiss player handled the tiebreak better than her younger sister, who committed 45 unforced errors throughout the match, to level the score at one set apiece.

A "little hot flush"

Boisson then conceded her serve in the first game of the final set. At 2-1 in favor of Viktorija Golubic, the Frenchwoman sought the intervention of a physiotherapist and sat on her bench to have her blood pressure measured. Upon her return to the court, she appeared physically struggling, losing a shutout on her serve (5-2) before her opponent concluded the match with her serve, after 2 hours and 16 minutes of combat.

The Frenchwoman justified the doctor's intervention by a " slight heatstroke." "The doctor intervened, he gave me what I needed, and after that I was better. I had a little trouble with that, but that's not why I'm losing either," she added.

Loïs Boisson, who announced a few days ago the end of his collaboration with his coach Florian Reynet, believes that he still " needs to find consistency throughout the tournaments, throughout the year."

"I've gained confidence, but I also know that I don't have the experience of these [Grand Slam ] tournaments. It will come over time and I will train, do my best to make it go as quickly as possible," she analyzed.

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Of the five French women in the first round of the US Open, only Elsa Jacquemot ( ^91st ) and Diane Parry ( ^107th ) managed to continue their adventure in New York. The former will face Canadian Leylah Fenandez ( ^30th in the world) on Wednesday, while the latter will play Mexican Renata Zarazua ( ^82nd ) on Thursday.

Lorenzo Musetti dominates Mpetshi Perricard, Royer authoritarian

The first match scheduled for Tuesday on the Louis Armstrong court, the second in the New York hierarchy, the duel between world number 10, Lorenzo Musetti, and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard ( ^37th ) initially turned to the advantage of the Frenchman, solid in his serve and winner of the first set 7-6. But the French giant (2.03 m), a formidable server, began to lose control in the second set to lose 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

"I managed to put into place the game plan we had defined (...) before the match, but it only lasted one set," he regretted after his third defeat in as many duels against Lorenzo Musetti. "Afterwards, I started to be a little short on certain shots. I had trouble holding the racket on serve. I started to have spasms, cramps in my forearm. I have a really explosive game and I had trouble finding the necessary relaxation to be able to be effective."

Valentin Royer, winner of his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon, repeated the feat without a hitch in the first round of the US Open. The ^98th- ranked player in the world defeated China's Bu Yunchaokete 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1). In the second round, he will face Canada's Denis Shapovalov ( ^29th ), who also won in three sets on Tuesday.

Facing the Belgian David Goffin ( ^80th ), Quentin Halys ( ^70th ) lost, with a score of 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. Hugo Gaston ( ^125th ), who succeeded Loïs Boisson on court number 10, faces the Japanese Shintaro Mochizuki ( ^112th ). Alexandre Müller ( ^38th ), facing the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas ( ^28th ), and the veteran Gaël Monfils ( ^49th ), who will face the Russian Roman Safiullin ( ^94th ) at the end of the day, have yet to enter the competition.

Pending their results, France currently has five male representatives in the second round in New York: Benjamin Bonzi ( ^51st ), Adrian Mannarino ( ^77th ), Arthur Rinderknech ( ^82nd ), Valentin Royer and Ugo Blanchet ( ^184th ).

The World with AFP

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