Who is Solana Sierra? Meet the lucky loser on historic Wimbledon run

Oli Dickson Jefford 04 Jul 2025 4:22 PM

Solana Sierra celebrates a win.

From the heartbreak of defeat to the joys of career-changing victories, Solana Sierra has experienced the full range of sporting emotions across her landmark Wimbledon campaign.

Last Thursday, Sierra suffered an agonising loss in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying, falling 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 to Talia Gibson, despite holding a 5-3 lead in the decider.

However, while Gibson would be beaten by Naomi Osaka in the opening round of the main draw, Lady Luck was on Sierra’s side.

The withdrawal of Greet Minnen saw the Argentinian enter the draw as a lucky loser and, just 15 minutes after finding out she would play, defeated Olivia Gadecki to pick up her first main draw SW19 win.

That was followed by a three-set triumph over home favourite Katie Boulter – out on Court 1 no less – before another gritty three-set win over Cristina Busca on Friday.

After losing a lopsided second set and being broken early in the decider, her hopes looked over.

But an extraordinary surge for the 21-year-old saw her retake complete control, battling her way to a 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 triumph on Court 12.

“It was really tough,” said Sierra in her post-match press conference.

“I started really well in the first set and she started to play really well. I think we had a great level.

“In the second set, I didn’t play too good, but she was playing good also. But, I think the key was to stay positive and fight for every point. That’s what I did in the third set.

“There was just a lot of happiness [after the match], with my team, my mum was there also, so it was very emotional.

“Last year, I played all the qualies of the Grand Slams. I think it was a really great experience, but this year I have another mentality, that I believe more in myself, and believe that I can do better in the bigger tournaments and the Grand Slams.”

Before Wimbledon, Sierra had never won a Grand Slam match, though she is now the first lucky loser in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of the women’s singles event.

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Her extended run continues a crazy week for the 21-year-old, who has had to move apartments four times during her time in London, including after her win versus Boulter in the second round.

It is not exactly a living situation the tournament’s leading players would relate to, many of whom have been renting the same Wimbledon houses for several years.

But it hasn’t seemed to deter Sierra, who appears to be taking things on the chin.

“We changed yesterday [Thursday] again, in the afternoon,” she revealed. “Now, we have until next Thursday, so we have more days to stay!”

Having previously reached a career-high of world No 100 in the WTA Rankings, Sierra is guaranteed to break new ground after Wimbledon.

The Argentine was provisionally up to a new career-high of world No 79 in the live rankings ahead of facing Bucsa, but is now up to a new projected high of world No 65.

All this comes as a huge positive to Sierra, who has previously trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy and looks to the likes of Gabriela Sabatini and David Nalbandian as her idols.

“I always dreamed to do good in the Grand Slams. My dream, of course, is to win one. I will just keep training and fighting for that dream.

“It’s very special. I think I’m not really concentrating on the rankings, but I think it helps to play the bigger tournaments, and not to play qualies in the Grand Slams.

“I’m trying to tell to myself that I belong here, it’s a bit crazy for now. I think my game and my level, it belongs here.”

After a dream run, Sierra has been handed yet another opportunity to potentially progress even further through the draw.

The Argentine will next face veteran Laura Siegemund in the fourth round, after the German stunned sixth seed Madison Keys on Friday afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, the two have not met on court before, though Sierra is preparing herself for another big battle against an opponent who is also looking to reach a first Wimbledon quarter-final.

“It’s going to be really tough, I know she has really good experience on the tour, so it’s going to be tough, like all the matches.

“I will just try to focus on myself.”