Making the best of her second chance, 2025 Wimbledon lucky loser Solana Sierra extended her dream run at the tournament into the fourth round. She was a 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 victor over Cristina Bucsa.
With the feat, the Argentine became the first lucky loser ever to reach the second week at the All England Club. Understandably, her performance has drawn awe as well as a certain level of surprise. But Sierra continues to show that she’s here to stay. And here, we have listed a few unknown facts about the fast-rising youngster who has taken Wimbledon by storm.
#1 Solana Sierra trained at Rafael Nadal’s Mallorca Academy
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The Argentine has been training under Miguel Fragoso at the academy and her coach has accompanied her to Wimbledon this year. From being ranked No. 167 in the world when she came in, she is now on the cusp of a top-50 debut. Unsurprisingly, she had nothing but praise to shower on the institute.
"The academy is super good," Solana Sierra was quoted as saying by WTA Tennis. "They're really professional, and they're helping me with my game and the stuff outside the court."
#2 She is a recipient of ITF's player development grant
Despite what anyone may tell you after this fortnight, fans at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships were not the first to spot Solana Sierra’s big-hitting and nifty frontcourt.
In fact, keen observers have had their eye on the youngster for quite some time. So much so that she was selected to receive the Grand Slam Player Development Programme grant, which can reach up to $25,000, from the International Tennis Federation in 2024.
Her coach at the time, Sebastian Gutierrez, had taken special note of her front-court skills, which he said helped her stand out. Unusual for players from the subcontinent, which had produced more traditional baseliners, her proficiency at the net has been a big part of her continuing success story at Wimbledon.
#3 Looks up to compatriot Gabriela Sabatini
Gabriela Sabatini has inspired an entire generation of players, especially back home in Argentina. Solana Sierra is very much a part of that group.
The former US Open champion, much like Sierra, went beyond the usual clay success that players from this part of the world were most accustomed to. Besides winning on the hardcourts of New York, she had also made a final at Wimbledon. Could Sierra follow in the footsteps? We will have to wait a few more days to find an answer to that question. The answer to another query, however, is quite certain:
“[Gabriela Sabatini], of course!” Solana Sierra had told WTA on being asked to pick her favorite tennis player. “The best! I watched on YouTube some videos of her. I really liked her personality -- it was really nice to watch.”
Besides, the youngster also holds immense respect for compatriots Juan Martin del Potro and Diego Schwartzman, whom she also grew up watching a lot of.
#4 Solana Sierra is a junior Grand Slam runner-up
From the looks of it, Solana Sierra has quite the knack for wreaking havoc in Grand Slam draws. Before her (continuing) run to the Wimbledon second week, she had also stunned some big names in the 2022 French Open Girls’ singles draw.
The junior tournament had seen the Argentine beat fourth seed Brenda Fruhvirtova in the opening round and race her way into the final without dropping a single set. She had beaten other seeds, including No. 6 Liv Hovde, No. 13 Nikola Bartůňková, and No. 16 Yaroslava Bartashevich en route.
And while Sierra came up short in the summit clash against Lucie Havlíckova, the run had announced her arrival on the big stage in fine fashion.
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