A fairy tale in Paris: French wild card Boisson stuns No. 6 Andreeva to reach French Open semis

PARIS (AP) — The dream run continues for the 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson at Roland-Garros.

After taking down third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the previous round, the French wild-card entry upset sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Wednesday in front of a boisterous and largely partisan crowd to reach the semifinals of the French Open.

A year ago, Boisson tore her left ACL just a week before her home Grand Slam tournament started, preventing her from accepting an invitation to play. On Thursday, she will have the chance to advance to the final when she takes on No. 2 seed Coco Gauff.

“It's incredible, no matter what, given what happened last year and all the difficult moments I went through,” Boisson said during her post-match interview.

The 22-year-old player was largely unknown outside tennis circles before capturing the spotlight in Paris. She is appearing in her first Grand Slam main draw and became the first woman to reach the semifinals at her debut major tournament since 1989, when Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati both did it at the French Open.

She is also the youngest French semifinalist at a Grand Slam event since Amélie Mauresmo at Wimbledon in 1999. The last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros was Mary Pierce, 25 years ago.

“I don’t think it’s a miracle," Boisson said. "It’s just the result of hard work. Nothing else.”

Boisson's performance even impressed the top-ranked male player, Jannik Sinner.

“I think that’s exactly what France needs, something very new, very special, great mentality,” Sinner said after moving into the semifinals. “The level she produces is amazing. Very consistent. Very clay court style.”

Sinner said he warmed up with Boisson on Wednesday.

“We hit some balls. It was a very consistent warmup for a different game style for a woman, because the ball is quite high and quite spinny,” he said. “Physically very strong. She deserves to be in the position where she is right now, and we wish her all the best for the future.”

Under the closed roof of court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva repeatedly showed her frustration with the crowd as fans chanted “Loïs, Loïs” between points, waved Tricolor flags, shouted during play, and even applauded the Russian teenager’s errors.

The first set was marked by momentum swings and brilliant shot-making from both players. Boisson twice found herself down a break but fought back each time, using heavy spin and deep groundstrokes to trouble her 18-year-old opponent.

Andreeva grew visibly tense on key points, struggling to maintain her composure and wasting a chance to close out the first set when up 5-3. Despite saving three set points and forcing a tiebreaker, she ultimately handed the set to Boisson with two consecutive backhand errors.

Andreeva responded strongly at the start of the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead. But Boisson broke back with a thunderous backhand winner down the line, drawing a roar of approval from the lively crowd.

Andreeva received a warning after netting a routine forehand volley and angrily hitting a ball into the stands. She then argued with the umpire over a call that gave Boisson three break points. Andreeva saved the first one with a forehand winner then double-faulted, and never recovered.

“The first set was super intense, and I was really struggling at the start of the second, but I managed to regroup and finish like that,” said Boisson, who will make a big jump in the rankings.

Having reached a career high of No. 152 last year before her knee injury, Boisson will climb at least to No. 68 on Monday. And that could be even higher if she manages to pull off a third straight shocker — against Gauff in the semifinals.

“Every kid who plays tennis dreams to win a Slam,” Boisson said. “More for French players, to win Roland-Garros. For sure I will go for the dream, because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semifinals.”

An unseeded player has reached the French Open final twice in the last four years: eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in 2021, and Karolina Muchova in 2023.

Andreeva, a semifinalist in Paris last year, said she struggled to deal with the pressure of a hostile crowd, sometimes making the wrong tactical decisions.

“Today was one of those days when it’s just a bit harder to deal with everything that’s going on in the court,” she said.

France's Lois Boisson celebrates after winning the first set against Russia's Mirra Andreeva during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Lois Boisson, centre right, and Russia's Mirra Andreeva attend a break during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Russia's Mirra Andreeva is reflected in a glass as she serves against France's Lois Boisson during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Lois Boisson plays a shot against Russia's Mirra Andreeva during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)