Boisson jumps 296 places in WTA rankings after French Open run
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff hold the top two spots after their run to the finals in Paris where American Gauff defeated world number one Sabalenka in three sets.
Boisson received a wildcard entry a year after undergoing surgery on her left knee, playing her first Grand Slam ranked 361th in the world.
The 22-year-old beat world number three Jessica Pegula and sixth ranked Mirra Andreeva before falling to Gauff in the semi-finals.
Iga Swiatek, the defending three-time French Open champion, falls two places to seventh after her semi-final defeat to Sabalenka.
China's Zheng Qinwen moves up to fifth after reaching the quarter-finals in Paris where she won Olympic gold last year.
WTA rankings
1 Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 11,553 pts
2. Coco Gauff (USA) 8,083
3. Jessica Pegula (USA) 6,483
4. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 4,805
5. Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 4,668 (+2)
6. Mirra Andreeva (RUS) 4,636
7. Iga Swiatek (POL) 4,618 (-2)
8. Madison Keys (USA) 4,484
9. Paula Badosa (ESP) 3,684 (+1)
10. Emma Navarro (USA) 3,649 (-1)
11. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 3,358
12. Diana Shnaider (RUS) 3,168
13. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3,035 (+1)
14. Karolina Muchova (CZE) 2,929 (-1)
15. Amanda Anisimova (USA) 2,804 (+1)
16. Daria Kasatkina (AUS) 2,801 (+1)
17. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 2,724 (-2)
18. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 2,390
19. Ekaterina Alexandrova 2,378 (+1)
20. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 2,200 (+1)
Selected:
65. Lois Boisson (FRA) 951 (+296)
© 2025 AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Los Angeles Grand Slam Track meeting cancelled: sources
The fourth and final stop on the new circuit had been due to take place at Los Angeles' Drake Stadium from June 28-29. However sources with knowledge of the situation told AFP Thursday that the meeting had now been scrapped due to "poor economics". An official announcement on the meeting's cancellation is expected later Thursday. Sources said Johnson was due to hold a video call with athletes and their representatives following Thursday's Diamond League meeting in Oslo to confirm the move. Reports in the United States and Britain said the cancellation was made due to the failure to secure adequate sponsorship and broadcast revenue for the league, which was launched in Kingston, Jamaica in April. Ticket sales for the Los Angeles event had also been sluggish, reports said, with Britain's The Times saying the decision to cancel would save organisers around $3 million in prize money and travel expenses. The cancellation is a stinging blow to Johnson's hopes of revolutionising athletics through the circuit, which was launched as part of an attempt to reinvigorate interest in the sport after years of decline. Johnson's stated goal of Grand Slam Track was to produce a more concentrated format which promised more head-to-head races between the world's best athletes. However while the series was able to recruit stars such as US Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles icon Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, it failed to recruit a slew of top sprinting talent including the reigning men's and women's 100m champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred. The series offered athletes prize money of up to $100,000 for their overall standings after participating in two races at each meet. However while athletes expressed enthusiasm for the series, there were clear signs it had failed to capture the imagination of fans. Swathes of empty seats were seen at the opening meeting in Kingston, while for the third meeting in Philadelphia, the program was cut from three days to two days. US Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin had been among the athletes expressing scepticism over Grand Slam Track's chances of success. "I look at it as a business," Benjamin said before the opening meeting in April. "At the end of the day, if there's no ROI (return on investment), then you have a failed business model. And it's like, how long could you be sustainable? "They're not going to make any money this year, they're not going to make any money next year." Johnson however brushed off those concerns, adamant that the series would generate interest once launched. "I've started several successful businesses in my life and not a single one was profitable in year one," Johnson said. "That's not how you build businesses.
France 24
5 hours ago
- France 24
Heir to an empire, Ferdinand Habsburg seeks new crown at Le Mans
The 27-year-old Ferdinand Zvonimir Maria Balthus Keith Michael Otto Antal Bahnam Leonhard Habsburg-Lothringen is the great-grandson of Charles I, who stood aside as the last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary in November 1918 on the day World War I ended. "Ferdi" will start his fifth Le Mans on Saturday, his second in the premier Hypercar class, sharing driving duties in an Alpine with Charles Milesi and Paul-Loup Chatin. "The goal is to win. Of course. But for me personally, it's to just enjoy it. You know, in the end, it's such a cool experience to be in Le Mans," he told AFP. The heir apparent to the House of Habsburg-Lothringen was born in Salzburg. As a child he dabbled in music, football, fencing and horse riding. "I was a child that was not able to sit still," he said. "It was torture for me!" Then he discovered karting. "And I was like, OK, finished. Finished with everything else," he said. "My parents taught me something: If you like something, you follow it." He started competing. "I had no clue about anything. Then it just went step by step by step," he said. "I won the Austrian championship. It was a surprise for everyone." He rose through the motor-racing classes, reaching Formula 3 in 2017. "It became clear that I was too old or not successful enough for F1," he said good-naturedly. In 2019, he switched to the German Touring Car Championship without making a splash. In 2021, he moved to the World Endurance Championship and in his first 24 Hours of Le Mans, finished first in his class. His relaxed manner makes him popular in his team. "He's the one who always sets the mood, no matter what the situation," said Milesi. "He's quite sunny," said Chatin. "He has a great capacity for concentration, regardless of the results." 'Everything I could ever want' Ferdinand's father Karl Habsburg-Lothringen long ago formally surrendered all claim to the Austrian throne but remains the head of the Habsburg family. Karl is coming to Le Mans for the first time to watch his son, the royal racing driver. "It was a surprise for a lot of my family, but mainly because I will become the head of the house. My father is the head of the house Habsburg and I will inherit this title. For example, if someone in our family wants to get married, they have to ask my father for permission. This is still a tradition. I will inherit this role and for them to think that I'm a racing driver and not something a bit more serious... is a shock." Ferdinand says that despite the illustrious name, his father's family, whose assets were taken over by Austria in 1919, are not in a position to underwrite his career. "After World War I, when my great-grandfather was in exile, he started with zero again. From being the emperor to being zero," Habsburg said. His mother, on the other hand, is from the Thyssen industrial dynasty. "I was lucky that my mother's family came from wealth and I was able to financially support my racing career in the beginning." Ferdinand, a devout Catholic, recently passed his bus driving test so he can do more in his work with young people "like the Boy Scouts". "We have a lot of prayer together, but also hiking in nature," he said. "The idea is to bring boys from all different backgrounds together to show kind of role models in life." He is driving for charity this weekend. "The idea is for every lap in Le Mans to feed one child extra for a whole year. "If I win the race, all of my prize money goes as well," he said.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Pakistan's Akram praises his statue amid social media flak
The statue of Akram –- one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers to play the game -– was installed outside the southwestern city of Hyderabad's Niaz Stadium in April. Akram is shown bowling wearing the kit of the 1999 World Cup team, when Pakistan were runners-up. Nearby is a statue of a tiger. One fan mocked the statue, saying: "The only thing that looks real is the ball," adding the face looked more like Hollywood hero Sylvester Stallone. The affable Akram, however, took to social media to praise the effort. "Lots of talk about my sculpture being erected at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad. Mine is definitely better than the tiger," he posted on X. "It's the idea that matters. Credit to the creators, full marks for the effort and thanks to everyone involved." Australia has a history of placing statues of their iconic players outside their stadiums, while India unveiled one of master batter Sachin Tendulkar outside a stadium in Mumbai in 2023. Niaz stadium chief Shiraz Leghari told AFP: "The artist did his best effort, but accepts it doesn't resemble (Akram) a hundred percent." Akram is one of the country's most celebrated cricketers, having represented Pakistan in 104 Tests and 356 ODIs with 414 and 502 wickets respectively.
