Lois Boisson Is “Personification of Coolness” With Hamburg Win

Lois Boisson keeps her emotions under tight control. The Frenchwoman is the personification of coolness. But on Sunday afternoon, it all burst out: a shout, a fist raised to the sky, and a grateful wave to all four stands at the Rothenbaum, from which thunderous applause erupted. In Hamburg, Lois Boisson won the first major title of her career. She defeated defending champion Anna Bondar in a gripping final, 7:5, 6:3. As a reward, she took home €31,565 in prize money – and an Explora cruise voucher. So it’s full speed ahead from Hamburg toward a big-time career!

“For me, Lois is a player who has the potential to break into the Top 10 in the world rankings,” says tournament ambassador Andrea Petkovic. And the trend backs that up: Boisson has climbed from No. 361 to No. 44 in just one year.

Boisson’s triumph continues a pattern. Since the tournament was revived in 2021 at Germany’s largest clay-court stadium, there has been a new champion every year. “I’m very happy that I was able to win here,” Boisson said. And it didn’t look like a win at all at the beginning of the match for the French Open semifinalist.

Anna Bondar had the stronger start, racing to a 4:0 lead after just 15 minutes. “I didn’t feel comfortable at first and had to change something,” Boisson explained. And she did: more variation, more power, and greater depth in her shots. She turned around a set that had seemed lost. At 5:5 she leveled the score and went on to win it 7:5.

Both players continued to take risks and play attacking tennis. But Bondar was never able to regain the dominance she had early in the match. Lois Boisson closed it out 6:3.

Lois is a fantastic player,” Bondar said graciously. A few tears rolled down her cheeks. It had been an emotionally intense tournament week for the Hungarian. And she had to refocus quickly: Bondar was also defending her doubles title, alongside Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. That defense failed too. They lost to the Ukrainian-Japanese duo of Nadiia Kichenok and Makoto Ninomiya 4:6, 6:3, 9:11 in the match tiebreak – despite having two match points.

At the final press conference, the smiles were as bright as Lois Boisson’s during the trophy ceremony on Center Court. Tournament director Sandra Reichel noted: “We saw world-class tennis at the highest level here. That was truly great sport.”

18,000 spectators came to the Rothenbaum throughout the week, and the TV broadcasts reached almost 200 countries around the globe. “This tournament has incredible international appeal,” said Reichel, promising: “We want to keep growing so that the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open becomes an even more prominent fixture in both the international and Hamburg sports calendar.”

Plans are already underway to add a wheelchair tournament with prize money and ranking points as early as next year. Discussions are ongoing with the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
Dietloff von Arnim, President of the German Tennis Federation (DTB), sees the tournament heading in the right direction and revealed: “I know that title sponsor MSC is also very pleased.” That’s crucial for the future development of the event.

There is also a shared hope that German players will find more success at the Rothenbaum in the future. This year, seven DTB professionals were in the main draw and six more in the qualifying rounds. Although the Round of 16 went on without German participation (partly because Eva Lys, Laura Siegemund, and Ella Seidel had to withdraw), the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open is set to remain a key stage for German players. And von Arnim is optimistic: “Many German players are on their way up.”

Andrea Petkovic had come straight from Wimbledon to the Rothenbaum – and was impressed by the level of play: “That was world-class. We had a very, very positive tournament week.” Not just in sporting terms: “What touched me most was seeing so many kids and young people here. That’s the future.” A future “for which we still have many ideas,” as Sandra Reichel promised. And that was music to the ears of DTB President Dietloff von Arnim: “Our deepest thanks go to Sandra Reichel and her team for everything they’ve built here.”

Tommy Haas was grateful too – for the chance to play once again at the Rothenbaum. Born in Hamburg, at home around the world, Haas left the city to become one of the best tennis players of his generation: World No. 2, Wimbledon semifinalist, Olympic silver medalist. He’s now 47. But in the exhibition match against 31-year-old Dominic Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion, Haas looked like he’d found the fountain of youth: agile, athletic – impressive. Haas won 6:2, 6.4.

For over an hour, the two former top pros delivered top-notch entertainment – a perfect warm-up for the women’s final. Afterwards, Thiem said: “A few years ago, I would’ve loved to have Tommy as a coach – we talked about it.” That plan didn’t come to life in the end, but – as Haas added – “I’ve always been a fan of Dominic as a player and a person.”

Dominic Thiem and Tommy Haas, two players who spent years at the top of the tennis world. Lois Boisson, with her triumph in Hamburg, has now cracked the Top 50 for the first time. Where will she stand when she returns to defend her title at the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open 2026?