Loïs Boisson – Rafael Nadal, the Babolat connection

Breakout star of Roland-Garros 2025, Loïs Boisson has been playing with the Pure Drive since 2016. As a young girl, she dreamed of using the same brand of racket as her idol. Babolat made that dream come true.

Some brands offer contracts once young talents begin achieving results. And then there's Babolat. Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were spotted by the company when they were barely ten years old. Loïs Boisson signed with Babolat at just sixteen, a testament to the brand’s exceptional scouting. At the time, the French player had yet to light up Roland-Garros with her class, her forehand, her mental toughness, her emotional control, her court coverage, and her extraordinary physical abilities ; qualities that ultimately took her to the semifinals, making her the first Frenchwoman to reach that stage since Marion Bartoli in 2011.

She hadn’t yet stunned the circuit with a dream run in Paris, knocking out three big names : Elise Mertens, Jessica Pegula, and Mirra Andreeva. Nor had she yet joined the rare club of players, alongside Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters (a former Babolat ambassador), to reach a Grand Slam semifinal while starting from outside the Top 300 (ranked 365) and needing a wildcard to get in.

« It’s incredible to play with a Babolat racquet like Rafa, my idol »

It wasn’t all written in the stars, but the story had already begun, as Loïs Boisson confirms: “My idol is Rafa Nadal. When I started playing tennis in Dijon at 8, where I was born, I just wanted to be like him, copy everything he did. I wanted to use the same brand as him. And for me, it’s incredible to play today with a Babolat racquet.” The choice quickly became obvious: “I started with the Pure Drive because, out of all the racquets I tried, it gave me the most control in my game. As soon as I picked it up, I knew within a day, it was the one! It gives me both power and control. It’s the perfect balance for my style.” If any adjustments are needed, whether to the frame or the Babolat RPM Team strings, Loïs knows she can count on a responsive, supportive team always looking for the best setup for her game: “I train in Lyon, and it’s so nice to be close to the brand, to know that people are designing the racquets right here in the city. It’s a real advantage. If I have a problem, I know they’re just around the corner.”

Unshakable resilience

It would be a mistake to think Loïs Boisson was born at Roland-Garros at age 22. From Dijon to Monaco, where she followed her father Yann, former ASVEL basketball player turned club executive ; and through Italy, where she trained from the Principality and crossed paths with Jannik Sinner at Riccardo Piatti’s academy, Boisson has built her career step by step, always with high goals and strong ambition. She carved out her own path. She put in the work, faced setbacks, bounced back, and pushed through every closed door, quietly, without drama. Her efforts were rewarded at Roland-Garros: “What I did was crazy. But it’s not a miracle. I’ve always had this ambition. I worked incredibly hard. That’s what makes me proud.”

Her first ITF title, won at home in Dijon in 2022, was no coincidence, but a turning point. At the time, she was training at the All In Academy, closely tied to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, another Babolat player. If not for a tough knee injury in May 2024, which forced her to miss Roland-Garros and the rest of the season just as she was nearing the Top 150, her rise might have come a year earlier. No matter. Her grit, resilience, and granite-strong mindset kept her on track for what promises to be a thrilling career, and one that Babolat is proud to support.