French Open star Lois Boisson told she ‘smells really bad’ by Britain’s Harriet Dart

World No 361 Lois Boisson is big news at the French Open after reaching the semi-finals as a wildcard and on her grand slam debut at Roland Garros, but it’s not the first time she has made headlines in recent weeks.

In April, Boisson was caught up in a bizarre incident in which Britain’s Harriet Dart complained about her smell and said she needs to “wear deodorant” mid-match.

Boisson was playing Dart, the British No 4, at the Rouen Open as the French player made her comeback to the WTA Tour after undergoing knee surgery the previous year.

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While Boisson won 6-0, 6-3 the match was overshadowed by comments Dart made that were picked up by court-side microphones, and for which she later apologised.

“Can you tell her to wear deodorant?” Dart asked the match umpire, directing towards Boisson. “Because the smell. Can you tell her to wear deodorant? She smells really bad.”

Dart, 28, subsequently apologised on social media.

“I want to apologise for what I said on court today,” Dart said. “It was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret. That’s not how I want to carry myself and I take full responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today. I’ll learn from this and move forward.”

To her credit, Boisson later made light of the incident, posting an edited photo on Instagram of her holding some deodorant and telling toiletries company Dove that they "apparently need a collab".

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Dove may not be the only sponsor to get in touch after Boisson beat Mirra Andreeva to reach the semi-finals, the second top-10 opponent she had defeated to reach the final four.

And Boisson said she is dreaming of winning the French Open title and is not satisfied with reaching the semi-finals after the wildcard continued her breakthrough Roland Garros run.

Boisson came into the tournament ranked 361st in the world but is now the first player to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros as a wildcard in the Open era and will play Coco Gauff on Thursday.

“I think every kid who plays tennis has the dream to win a grand slam,” Boisson said. “More for French players to win Roland Garros, for sure. It's a dream. For sure I will go for the dream, because my dream is to win it, not to be in the semi-final. So I will try to do my best.”