Loïs Boisson will meet Elena Rybakina in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday after a build-up interrupted by a left calf alert. The 23-year-old Dijonnaise enters as the world No. 154, yet she says she expects to be at 100% for the match.
Boisson learned the draw at the airport
Boisson said she found out about the draw while she was at the airport. Her reaction was straightforward: “J'étais à l'aéroport quand je l'ai appris.”
She also said she had turned the page after Roland-Garros. “L'après-Roland s'est bien passé, c'était l'avant-Roland qui était compliqué.” That reset matters here because Wimbledon is arriving fast, with no time for a slow start against the world number 2.
Rybakina brings the higher bar
Rybakina won Wimbledon in 2022, and Boisson’s grass record is thin. Her only match on grass this year ended in a three-set loss to Solana Sierra at s-Hertogenbosch, and she said she had won one of her seven matches since resuming competition in April.
Boisson also said last year’s Wimbledon ended in the first round of qualifying. This time, the match is on Court 1, and she says she is ready to push from the first ball: “Que ce soit elle ou une autre, je vais juste tout faire pour gagner.”
Boisson wants speed on grass
The preparation issue is not just the calf. Boisson said she had not touched her racket enough in recent months and wanted to move quickly onto grass. “Je n'avais pas assez touché à ma raquette ces derniers mois, je n'avais pas besoin de couper, c'était tout le contraire, je voulais vite basculer sur le gazon.”
She added that the calf issue came late in her last tournament, but she took time to come back in shape before Wimbledon. “J'ai eu un petit truc musculaire sur mon dernier tournoi et j'ai pris le temps pour revenir ici en forme.”
That leaves Tuesday’s opener as a clean test of where she really stands: a player ranked 154th in the world, with one grass-court match this year, against the reigning 2022 champion. Boisson says she will be there physically; the match will show whether her short grass season can hold up under Court 1 pressure.
“Je vais jouer à fond et profiter parce que Wimbledon, c'est incroyable, on sent qu'il y a une histoire derrière, j'adore.”
