Coco Gauff shared her thoughts on the French Open crowd, as she will be taking on Lois Boisson in her upcoming semifinal clash at the tournament. The gathering has been notorious for their loudness and jarring behavior, to which Mirra Andreeva fell prey in her quarterfinal match against the Frenchwoman.
Agitated by the crowd’s behavior, Andreeva angrily hammered a ball into the stands during the match and was issued a code violation along with a warning from the umpire for her antics. She was also booed by the spectators, to which she screamed at the crowd, “shut up” and burst into tears.
Gauff, who knocked out Madison Keys from the tournament with a dominant performance, took note of this incident and highlighted things that she would be avoiding as she gears up to face the ‘hometown hero’, Boisson, in her next match.
At the post-match press conference, she explained her approach and said:
"There’s two ways I’ve done it in the past. Either A.) Pretend they’re cheering for you… or B.) Just using it and not letting that get to you. I’ve been in crowds where they’re 99% for me. So I don’t have an issue with it."
She elaborated on how she will be preparing mentally for the challenge.
"I hope everyone will be respectful. If not, it’s cool. It makes sports exciting. I can’t get irritated that someone is rooting for their hometown hero, because I would do the same. It’s just something I’ll mentally prepare for, expect, and be ready for,” Coco Gauff added.
She explained how she is used to not getting favored by the crowd, bringing to light her past few clashes.
Coco Gauff on past experiences of playing home favorites

Coco Gauff ousted 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 and secured a spot in the final four at Roland Garros, for the second consecutive year. Standing between her and the final is breakout star Lois Boisson, who entered the tournament as a wildcard and has stunned everyone to qualify for her maiden Grand Slam semifinal.
Speaking on how the crowd will react during her match, she explained how she is quite used to playing against home favorites.
"I've played Jasmine and Sara in Rome. I've played Caroline and Kristina here. So I have some experience playing, like, against a crowd that maybe is not rooting for you. It's something I'm looking forward to if it were to happen," she said after her match.
Coco Gauff will face Boisson on June 5.