Now that the French Open is finished with the American Coco Gauff as the Winner, there was a key lesson from French player Lois Boisson:

The Power of Self-Belief

It is quite customary among French people to have a loser's mindset, worrying more about not appearing foolish sharing their big goals than achieving great things, especially if they become the butt of a joke by not achieving. It is due to their highly critical approach to everything that they incorporate into their lives. This contrasts with the Spanish Grinta.

This is partly why it is quite a recurring event with French Male Tennis players regularly shitting the bed when comes the pressure points. This is what defines the outcomes of Tennis Games as the density within the Top 100 is relatively high, or in other words, there is a tiny margin between levels (Points won are often within the 55-45 range). Whenever they faced higher-ranked players, they would not think they had the minerals to beat them.

Young French Players like Arthur Fils are showcasing a different side, where they don't mind stating that they seek to win a Grand Slam, something no French player has achieved in the past 25 years, since Marie Pierce won the French Open.

And here comes Lois Boisson, player ranked 361, 22 years old. She entered the circuit in 2019 at 16, playing ITF tournaments (think of it as small contests with no spectators and little prize money, just there to help a player rise the ranks). In early 2024, she experienced a significant rise and won her first 125 Challenger (one rank above ITF tournaments), climbing to a ranking of 152. She looks to be one to watch for the future of French women's Tennis. It wasn't until she suffered from the favourite injury of former college athletes who did not make it. She tore her ACL.

This was a massive bummer because one needs to understand that tennis players run a deficit if they are not part of the top 100. It is one of the most elitist sports, where a good team or questionable contracts cannot compensate for mediocre players, and most money is earned through endorsements rather than tournament prize money , when it is not exhibitions.

Although they are reserved for the first tier of the top 100, you must pay for the coach, travel, accommodation, and other incidental costs, which are necessary for optimal performance. So, she had to undergo surgery and was sidelined for 9 months, just before the French Open, where she would have most likely entered the 2024 version thanks to the Wild Card System, and secure enough prize money from entering the main draw to make up for the 2024 yearly cost.

To add insult to injury, she went back to rank 513 when she re-entered the tour by early 2025. She went to doing the ITFs to rise the ranks again.

In one of the early tournaments, she made the headlines after one catty female British Player who was losing to her said to the Chair Umpire (referee) after the end of a service game to tell the French player: "Can you Tell Her to wear Deodorant? She smells really bad every time she walks.". Lois Boisson went on to win the game and was only informed about the event after the end of the match, to go on Instagram, and cheekily tagged Dove, saying that she would be a great ambassador. Using the "buzz" of the event to her benefit to potentially seek an endorsement showed how she did not let one of the most underhanded comments one can make get the better of her—using humour and audacity to get a nice paycheck, potentially.

This event demonstrated that she possessed personality and character before receiving her 2025 French Open wild card. When it comes to the way she plays the game, she is playing at a level above her official ranking. When it comes to clay court, I would venture that she has a top 20 level, powered by the versatility of her game. This is in contrast to most female tennis players, who try to emulate the modern male tennis game by using flat strikes in a high cadence rhythm.

After receiving her French Open 2025 Wild Card to enter the main draw, she beat Top 30 Belgian Elise Mertens, World Number 3, American Jessica Pegula, and World Number 6, Russian Miira Andreeva, under a fired-up French crowd. This also reinforces the idea that having people believe in you around you will help you greatly pull miracles. She eventually lost in the Semi-Finals to Coco Gauff, the tournament winner.

She has been amazing to back in-play for my tennis trading as she was under the radar, even to specialists.

A killer forehand, great footwork, and a shredded and muscly body, which is helpful for long clay rallies. A powerful serve and a useful backhanded slice, not discounting her unconventional use and reliance on moon balls. This was the perfect mix to annoy the stereotypical game that many women in the WTA embraced.

What was key was how she responded when she was behind on the scoreboard, not giving up early, using a risk-on approach on pressure points, and keeping incredible composure considering her age to come back and win the set. What struck me the most was her killer look, she is not there to fuck around, you can tell she is here to create havoc, whilst remaining mature and humble in press conferences. You can have ambition and have your head on your shoulders. Yet, not having any chip on the shoulder, she harbours her ambition to win a Grand Slam.

Many French Commentators criticised her comment after her win against Jessica Pegula that she is aiming to win this edition of the French Open on her first invitation, despite already breaking many records. This is typical of the "Petit Bras" mentality so prevalent in France, where they want to bring down people who believe in themselves and have ambition. Be content with little, even if you think you can reach the heights. This is what I have noticed when living in the US: the difference in mindset. It is no wonders, the US is the country of sports and France of writers and other pencil neck intellectual wankers, and partly explained my exile from the country.

When she suffered her injury, she demonstrated incredible mental strength in her recovery, and this challenge prompted her to reassess her approach to the game. When other players would be playing afraid of losing, she realised her career could end overnight, so she attacks games as if there is no tomorrow, explaining her fearless and audacious approach to Tennis. She transformed what many players would consider a traumatic experience into a source of strength. Her hard work is what got her there.

During her game against Coco Gauff, she was outclassed by a technically better clay court player who was also ice cold and did not crumble under the pressure of the French crowd (unlike Miira Andreeva). Coco won the baseline battle and was less tired and more experienced than her French counterpart; yet, she battled to the best of her ability.

Regardless, Lois Boisson is a testament to the power of self-belief. She would not have gone as far without it; she had no impostor syndrome, and she felt like she deserved to win the Grand Slam. Granted, technical abilities matter, but due to the singular nature of the sport, her existing level, a bad day from an opponent, is not to be underestimated, as women's tennis is full of upsets.

She has now entered the Top 100 and is now expected to be ranked around the 65th position, becoming the top French Female Player (French Women's Tennis is that bad, right now...). More importantly, she will have sponsors fighting to get her to be their ambassador, securing a future highly welcomed monetary package, not discounting the $784,0000 prize money she will get from her tournament performance (when her career earnings were $141,000 before the 2025 French Open), not discounting her IG which went from 6,000 to 300k follower opening other advertising avenues. She broke the French Nielsen rating with 13 million viewers since the 2000's finale with Marie Pierce, cheering for her in the semi-final, carried along in her fairy tale.

Her Winning Mindset proved the general loser's mindset shared by most "Petit Bras" French people wrong, and they were there waiting at the top.

What is the lesson?

Have big goals

Put in the Hard Work

Believe in Yourself

If you don't reach your goals, you will, at the very least, build mental strength and go further than if you had thought less.

If you do, you will receive the monetary benefits, but the cherry on top is proving your doubters wrong.

Audacity will eventually reward you. The Jews call it Chutzpah.