“She Smells Really Bad”: Tennis Star Breaks Silence On Opponent Commenting On Her Odor Mid-Match

French tennis player Lois Boisson appeared as unbothered as ever when she finally addressed the odor-related controversy involving British player Harriet Dart.

The two players were engaged in some on-court drama, which triggered a wave of surprise and amusement online.

Many sided with Lois, saying, “The opponent could smell her from across the court? Just B.S. trying to excuse bad play and losing.”

Lois Boisson broke her silence on the odor-related controversy involving British player Harriet Dart

Image credits: Mustafa Yalcin/Getty Images

The strange encounter between the two players took place during a first-round match at the Rouen Open in April.

“Can you ask her to put on deodorant? She smells really bad,” Harriet, 28, told the umpire during a changeover in the second set.

The match then went on, with Harriet ultimately suffering a 6-0 6-3 defeat against 22-year-old Lois.

Image credits: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

The remark about the rising French star’s hygiene was caught on courtside microphones, and Harriet issued an apology amid backlash online.

Weeks later, Lois addressed the unusual controversy ahead of her debut in the fourth round of the French Open.

With her trademark cool, Lois suggested that her game spoke louder than an offhanded insult that had nothing to do with tennis.

Harriet Dart suffered defeat during their controversial match at the Rouen Open

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Lois was asked on Sunday whether it was difficult to deal with the incident involving Harriet.

“It was not difficult to deal with,” the young player responded.

“It was okay. It was nothing for me. She maybe did a mistake. Then I joke about it, and that’s it.”

Lois said she didn’t hear the comment her British opponent made during the match

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— LorenaPopa 🕵️‍♀️🎾 (@popalorena) April 15, 2025

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The tennis star noted that she hadn’t heard the comment during the match and only found out about it after defeating the British number four.

“I didn’t hear during the match,” she said. “I didn’t know what was happening, so I knew two hours later. It was okay for me. It was nothing.”

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Shortly after Harriet and Lois went head to head at the Rouen Open in April, the British player took to Instagram to apologize for her comments.

“Hey everyone, I want to apologize for what I said on the court today; it was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret,” she said in an Instagram Story.

Harriet apologized for her bizarre comment and said she has “respect” for the way Lois competed

Image credits: harriet_dart

She said the comment didn’t reflect how she wanted to “carry” herself and took full responsibility for her words.

“I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today. I’ll learn from this and move forward,” she concluded.

Lois also promptly broke her silence online by making light of the situation.

She gave a shout-out to cosmetics giant Dove and asked them to sponsor her. 

The young player also posted a Photoshopped picture of herself with a Dove deodorant can in her hand.

“@dove apparently need a collab,” she wrote in the text, along with a prayer emoji and two laughing-with-tears faces.

“It turns out the odor was the smell of success,” the internet said after Lois addressed the controversy on Sunday

Image credits: LTA

Image credits: Wimbledon

After Lois’ remarks on Sunday, netizens once again took a moment to tsk-tsk at Harriet’s remarks.

“Sore loser will try anything to upset opponent and turn tables,” one said, while another wrote, “Nothing worse than a sore loser.”

“What a thing to say about your opponent, within earshot of your opponent!!!” said another.

Lois entered the second week of the 2025 French Open with a match against Jessica Pegula on Monday

Image credits: loisboisson

“Harriet Dart lost the match in which she made the comments about Lois boisson’s odour. It turns out the odor was the smell of success,” read another comment.

“The British player is a loser and was trying to divert people’s attention from her bad performance by being downright offensive to her opponent,” one said.

As the second week of the 2025 French Open began on Monday, June 2, Lois was slated to have a clash with US player Jessica Pegula.

Jessica is currently ranked third in the world, while her young French player is ranked 361st.

“It’s absolutely wonderful,” the rising French player said ahead of her match against the world no. 3 player

Image credits: France tv sport

Lois has suffered and recovered from an injury on her right shoulder injury—where she now has a tattoo that says “resilience”—and a ruptured ligament in her left knee in the past.

“It’s wonderful to have got to the second week here [at the 2025 French Open], especially when you look at what happened to me in the past,” she said on Sunday before facing the world No. 3 player. “It’s absolutely wonderful.”

Harriet, meanwhile, has not won a WTA Tour match since making the unusual comment about her opponent’s personal hygiene.

The incident sparked a frenzy on social media

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