French tennis star Lois Boisson lost a hard-fought opening match in the opening round of the 2026 US Open to 26th seed Emma Navarro. But what received the most attention was not the match itself, but Boisson’s reaction afterward.
The first two sets both went to tiebreaks, with the players splitting them one apiece. However, Navarro finally emerged triumphant in the third and final set 6-3 to ultimately win the match.
Afterward, the pair came to the net for the customary post-match handshake. Everything was fine and normal with the handshake and the niceties exchanged with the umpire. But amazingly, as the camera centered in on Navarro soaking up the cheers from the crowd, Boisson could be seen violently slamming her racket on the court in the background.
Tennis player breaking their racket in background while winner celebrating in foreground. Player mad after losing, amazing camera work Navarro Boisson pic.twitter.com/2qJg4x7mbr
— Ashley’s Media (@mediagnome16) August 31, 2026
If that video doesn’t surmise the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” then nothing does.
Boisson made the French Open semifinals in 2025, but hasn’t otherwise made it out of the first round of a major championship. She reached a peak world ranking of 34th in February earlier this year.
There has been a focus this year on tennis players being able to find some private spaces away from the cameras to be able to fully express themselves and their emotions. It all started when Coco Gauff was caught by cameras in the back hallways at the Australian Open. However, she did not realize that cameras still had access to the area, and her racket smashing was shown to the world. A “rage room” was even introduced at a tournament this year to give players an opportunity to destroy things out of sight of the cameras in private.
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