A comeback pushed back again
Lois Boisson will have to wait. She had hoped to get back in action during the North American hard-court swing, but the French player has withdrawn from the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati. It is another setback in a tricky spell, where every date on the calendar feels more like a fragile target than a sure thing.
The Dijon native will be replaced in the draw by Kamilla Rakhimova. For Boisson, the message is clear enough: no point rushing back if the body is not ready to handle the demands of the very top level.
Cincinnati could have been the perfect warm-up for the US Open. Instead, it is another missed stop.
Cincinnati | WTA 1000 | Main Draw Update
OUT: 🇫🇷 Boisson
IN: 🇺🇿 Rakhimova— ♥️ (@VenusGauff) July 23, 2026
Caution before panic
In situations like this, the frustration is obvious. A player wants to compete, feel the ball again, get back into the draw sheets and test herself against the best. But the WTA Tour does not leave much room for half-fit returns.
A WTA 1000 event like Cincinnati is no soft landing. The opposition is already rolling, the matches are brutal, the hard courts are unforgiving, and the pace can turn nasty fast if the prep is incomplete.
Boisson and her camp appear to have taken the sensible route: delay the comeback rather than force it and risk wrecking the end of the season. It never feels great in the moment, but sometimes it is exactly what stops you from going back to square one a few weeks later.
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The US Open is still the goal
The main objective now is New York. The US Open, set for the end of August, remains the next big date on Lois Boisson’s calendar. That is where she hopes to return, with enough match sharpness and physical confidence to do more than just show up.
The challenge is twofold. First, she has to be fit. Then she has to find her competitive edge again after weeks away from the court. Training can go smoothly, but nothing replaces the tension of a real match, the pressure points, the return patterns, the movement under stress.
Boisson will need to rebuild all of that quickly, but without cutting corners.
Bad timing in the American swing
The North American hard-court swing is often a key part of the season. It helps players build momentum before the US Open, stack matches, fine-tune the details and find some confidence on a demanding surface.
By missing Cincinnati, Boisson loses an important chance to bank court time. But if her body is not there yet, the absence can also be seen as an investment. Better to arrive in New York a little undercooked but fit enough to play than to rush into a packed event and risk making things worse.
Her camp seems to have made that call.
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The real battle is the return
For Lois Boisson, this is about more than a withdrawal. It is about getting the comeback right. Coming back with enough solidity so every match does not feel like a medical check. Regaining trust in her movement, her shots and her ability to keep going.
Top-level tennis does not forgive tentative returns. Especially on hard courts, where the changes of direction, the impacts and the repetition can add up quickly.
So yes, Cincinnati is a disappointment. But this withdrawal also looks like a protective decision. A way of keeping the real goal in sight.
New York on the horizon
Lois Boisson will not be in Cincinnati. Kamilla Rakhimova takes her place, while the French player keeps working behind the scenes.
The US Open is still the big date. The one she does not want to miss, but also the one she does not want to enter in a rush.
For now, the brief is simple: recover, rebuild, come back at the right time.
Not as fast as possible.
As well as possible.
in your pocket.
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