Solana Sierra’s Wimbledon journey has all the makings of a tennis fairytale. The 21-year-old Argentine, ranked 101st in the world, wasn’t even supposed to be in the main draw. After falling in the final round of qualifying, her hopes of a Wimbledon debut were dashed. However, a twist of fate gave her a second chance. When Germany’s Greet Minnen withdrew, Sierra was given just one hour’s notice: she was in the main draw as a “lucky loser.”
She took the court with no time to dwell, and remarkably, she won. Then she won in the second round as well, beating Katie Boulter. Now, Sierra finds herself in the third round - a feat no Argentine woman has achieved at Wimbledon since Gisela Dulko in 2009. Even more remarkably, Sierra is only the fourth lucky loser in the tournament’s long history to reach this stage, following in the footsteps of Tine Swann (1974), Louise Field (1989), and Lauren Davis (2019).
Her third-round opponent is Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, who ranks just one spot below her at No. 102. She is riding high after a stunning upset over 22nd-seeded Donna Vekic. It sets up an unlikely but thrilling showdown between two underdogs chasing their first Round of 16 appearance.
“It feels amazing. It was a really tough match. Katie is a great player, so I tried to focus on myself and enjoy the moment, because it’s a dream to be here at Wimbledon, on this court, and with this crowd. I’m super proud. Like I said, it was very difficult, but from the beginning, my team and I believed we could win this match. So I’m very happy,” Sierra said.
Sierra’s rapid rise has also been logistically chaotic. “We’ve already changed hotels three times,” she laughed. “And now we’re going to have to change again because I won. But as we say, that’s a good problem to have.”
With her two wins, Sierra has already secured £152,000 in prize money and is set to break into the world’s top 80, a remarkable leap from her No. 175 ranking just a year ago. As a junior, she reached the semifinals of the 2021 US Open and was a finalist at the 2022 French Open. In March, she began training at the Rafa Nadal Academy.