Jessica Pegula, world No. 3, loses to 361st-ranked Lois Boisson in giant Roland Garros upset

In a colossal upset, 361^st-ranked Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old French wild card and Grand Slam main-draw debutant, has defeated third-seeded Jessica Pegula in the fourth round of Roland Garros, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Boisson entered the tournament with one main-draw, tour-level match win on the season: a 6-0, 6-3 victory over 110^th-ranked Harriet Dart at Rouen. She now has five, and none more unlikely this one.

Pegula, whose strengths are amplified on surfaces faster than red clay, had still never lost to an unseeded player at Roland Garros. She was also 19-2 against opponents ranked outside the Top 100 at Grand Slams.

Despite all that, Boisson has become the lowest-ranked player to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2017, when 418^th-ranked Kaia Kanepi did so at the US Open.

Boisson came into this match with nothing to lose, and even more so when she trailed by a set and 4-3. From there, she used every tool in her impressive arsenal, from massive inside-out forehands to scrappy defense to drop shots, to unsettle Pegula—and unleash the partisan crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier for the first time.

“She’s got about 10 people in this stadium who are cheering for her,” noted Lindsay Davenport about Pegula, on the TNT broadcast.

Five games later, and Pegula was down 2-0 in third.

“Jessie’s got to stop the bleeding right here,” said Davenport. “The fans are a real thing.

“She’s not only fighting the game of Boisson, she’s fighting the fans.”

The circumstances of this match were not unlike Pegula’s quarterfinal against Alexandra Eala in Miami. Playing an out-of-nowhere underdog on a big stage, with most fans against her and everything to lose, the American remained calm under pressure.

It was enough to see her through that night in Florida, but not on Monday in France.

Pegula began a turnaround by, first off, simply reducing errors. Boisson—who came into the match having hit the most winners of any player in the women’s draw—troubled Pegula late in the second set by making her hit one more ball, time and again. Once Pegula cleaned up her game, she found ways to generate pace, and started using something Boisson was doing against her: the drop shot. A doubles veteran, Pegula began to draw Boisson to net with the slow ball and finish points with simple, crisp volleys.

But despite regaining control of the contest, Pegula could not create enough distance from her challenger. She went just 1 for 6 on break points in the third set—failing to convert at 30-40, while leading 3-2, proved pivotal—as Boisson remained uber-aggreesive and dictated play against the heavy favorite. She looked like the higher-ranked player in the decider, and would be rewarded for her against-all-odds effort.

Pegula would earn four break points in the final game, but all four would vanish. The first was erased with a Boisson mishit, but the final miss was the most painful, when a short Pegula volley strayed an inch or so wide.

That felt like Pegula’s last chance, and indeed it was. Two points later, and a big Boisson forehand—one as big as this upset—sealed a shocker on the terre battue.