Solana Sierra continues her Cinderella run at Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old Argentine tennis player, who was out of the competition a week ago at the All England Club, has become the first ‘lucky loser’ in the Open Era to reach the women’s singles fourth round at Wimbledon.
Lucky losers are players who lost in qualifying but end up in the main draw if others withdraw.
Sierra only got 15 minutes’ notice before her first-round match that she’d be playing, following an injury to Belgium’s Greet Minnen.
And Sierra has grasped her opportunity with both hands, beating Cristina Bucsa 7-5 1-6 6-1 in the third round on Friday.
“I remember I was really sad that day [I lost in qualifying], and today is like the best day of my life,” she told BBC Sport.
“So it’s been really crazy. Seven days ago, I was out of the tournament, right now I’m into the second week. So it’s really crazy, and I’m just super happy.”
She is the first Argentinian woman since Paola Suarez in 2004 to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.
By getting to that stage, Sierra will take home a minimum of £240,000 in prize money, adding considerably to her £330,000 career earnings until this point.
“[I feel] super lucky,” said the world number 101, who beat Britain’s Katie Boulter in the second round. “But I think I also take the opportunity, and I really want to keep going and to keep dreaming in this tournament.”
Sierra has picked up her fourth different room key as she keeps up her historic progress at the grass-court Grand Slam.
Sierra has extended her latest accommodation booking until Tuesday, which means if she beats Germany’s Laura Siegemund on Sunday, she will still have somewhere to stay until the quarterfinals.
While Sierra is the first woman to achieve the feat, there have been five lucky losers to reach the men’s singles fourth round, most recently Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in 2024.
And there is a lucky loser impressing in the men’s singles this year too.
The 2021 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics beat Gael Monfils over five sets, and across two days, to reach the third round.
The Hungarian, who said he had gone from “hell to heaven” since losing in qualifying, will play the American 10th seed Ben Shelton on Saturday.
