WIMBLEDON chose NOT to give a French Open semi-finalist a wildcard.
But they did give the Brit who made a cruel “deodorant” jibe about her a spot in the main draw.
Lois Boisson, 22, hit headlines in April after Harriet Dart took a mean swipe at her personal hygiene.
At a change of ends during her 6-0 6-3 defeat to the Frenchwoman, Dart inexplicably asked the umpire to “tell her to wear deodorant” because “she smells really bad”.
Boisson hit back with a brilliant quip to the unkind comments, jokingly writing that “Dove apparently need a collab”.
And not only did she breeze to an easy win and her classy reputation enhanced, but she then had the best fortnight of her life with a stunning run to the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
Given a wildcard by the French Tennis Federation after an ACL injury saw her slump to world No361, Boisson enjoyed a stunning run.
She beat No3 seed Jessica Pegula and No6 seed Mirra Andreeva in front of a raucous home crowd, Boisson was eventually knocked out by Coco Gauff, who lifted the trophy.
As well as earning £578,000 – five times more than the rest of her career prize money – she also jumped up to 67 in the WTA world rankings.
That would ordinarily be high enough for direct entry into the majors, but the Wimbledon cut-off was before the rankings updated after the French Open.
So Boisson was reliant on a wildcard spot in the main draw – but was snubbed by the All England Club.
Of the eight wildcards handed out for the women’s singles, seven went to British players – including Dart and 16-year-old rising star Hannah Klugman.
The other was for two-time champ Petra Kvitova from Czech Republic following her return from maternity leave.
Instead, Boisson used her protected ranking of 153rd from before the injury to secure a qualifying place for Wimbledon, where she will play her first professional match on grass.
But tennis fans could not believe the call from the AELTC to overlook her for a place in the 128-player main draw.
One said: “I’m genuinely shocked Lois Boisson was denied a Wimbledon wild card… I hope she makes it through the qualifiers.”
Another wrote: “Totally understand many wildcards for Wimbledon being handed to British players, but it’s disappointing there isn’t one for Lois Boisson as well.
“Now inside the top 70 after Roland Garros – it would have been good to see her in the main draw. Hope she comes through qualifying.”
Wimbledon 2025 Wildcards
GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES
1 Jay CLARKE (GBR)
2 Oliver CRAWFORD (GBR)
3 Daniel EVANS (GBR)
4 George LOFFHAGEN (GBR)
5 Johannus MONDAY (GBR)
6 Jack PINNINGTON JONES (GBR)
7 Henry SEARLE (GBR)
8 To be announced
LADIES’ SINGLES
1 Jodie BURRAGE (GBR)
2 Harriet DART (GBR)
3 Francesca JONES (GBR)
4 Hannah KLUGMAN (GBR)
5 Petra KVITOVA (CZE)
6 Mika STOJSAVLJEVIC (GBR)
7 Heather WATSON (GBR)
8 Mingge XU (GBR)
GENTLEMEN’S QUALIFYING SINGLES
1 Oliver BONDING (GBR)
2 Nicolai BUDKOV KJAER (NOR)
3 Arthur FERY (GBR)
4 Paul JUBB (GBR)
5 Ryan PENISTON (GBR)
6 Oliver TARVET (GBR)
7 To be announced
8 Wild Card Play-off place
9 Wild Card Play-off place
LADIES’ QUALIFYING SINGLES
1 Emily APPLETON (GBR)
2 Amarni BANKS (GBR)
3 Renata JAMRICHOVA (SVK)
4 Ella MCDONALD (GBR)
5 Yuriko Lily MIYAZAKI (GBR)
6 Amelia RAJECKI (GBR)
7 Ranah STOIBER (GBR)
8 Wild Card Play-off place
9 Wild Card Play-off place
And a third added: “Roland Garros has never issued a WC to a British woman player. Wimbledon has a long memory.”
The French Open usually gives a wildcard to Australia and the United States, the hosts of the other two majors – but not to Great Britain.
On the men’s side, seven of the eight main-draw wildcards have been confirmed – with all of them so far going to Brits.
That leaves three-time Grand Slam champ Stan Wawrinka’s hopes of playing at a 19th Wimbledon hanging by a thread.
The veteran turned 40 in March but is now down at world No155 and not on the qualifying entry list.
Dan Evans is the standout Brit along with Jay Clarke and in-form Oliver Crawford.
Wimbledon gets underway on June 30 – with the finals over the weekend of July 12-13.
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