Wimbledon Lucky Loser Reveals Housing Struggle After Surprise Second-Round Win

Some dreams are being broken, while others are coming true at Wimbledon. After shocking exits from top 10 seeds like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula on Days 1 and 2, but Day 3 brought some heartwarming moments. Solana Sierra, who had a rough start and only made it back as a lucky loser, is stealing the spotlight. Ranked No. 101, she became the first Argentine female tennis player to win at a Grand Slam in over a year on Monday. She beat Australian Olivia Gadecki (103) 6-2, 7-6 (8) on her Wimbledon debut. Now, with another shock upset under her belt, she’s revealing a touching tale.

On Wednesday, Katie Boulter, British No. 2, had a tough day on Court No. 1, despite a spirited first-set comeback that had fans buzzing. She fought back from 2-5 down to clinch the set 7-6 in a tie-break. But Sierra flipped the script entirely. She capitalized on Boulter’s whopping 14 double faults and 36 unforced errors, storming back to win 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 . Talk about a plot twist!

In her post-match interview, an ecstatic Sierra shared her unique housing dilemma: “I mean, I lost in the third round of qualies, so we already changed three times the apartment, and now we’re going to change again. Because I win! But like we said, it’s a good problem.” She and her mom are on the move again because of her incredible run!

Sierra couldn’t hide her joy, adding, “It feels amazing. I knew it was a really tough match, Katie is an amazing player, so I just tried to focus on myself and enjoy this moment. It’s a dream to play here.”  For Boulter, it’s back to the drawing board after a performance she’ll surely rue, but for Sierra, the sky’s the limit. Can she pull off another upset? Only time will tell, but it’s a good start for the 21-year-old, right? After all, her early years in tennis weren’t without their struggles.

Ex-coaches open up about Solana Sierra’s tennis journey

The Argentine’s love for tennis kicked off early in her hometown of Mar del Plata. She started hitting rackets with her dad at just two years old. Her father reportedly took her to train with former pro Bettina Fulco, who led Argentina’s Billie Jean King Cup team from 2010 to 2013. However, Fulco thought Sierra was too young to join her squad but didn’t leave them hanging — she guided Sierra’s dad on coaching and got them special low-pressure balls that bounce lower, helping kids learn more naturally.

By six, Sierra’s skills were way ahead of her peers, so she often faced older girls and boys. At nine, she began training with coach Hernán Cortez, who drove her to tournaments across Argentina and even Brazil. “The car’s got 420 thousand kilometers, of which 350 thousand probably are the result of taking Solana to championships,” he once told Mar del Plata outlet La Capital. “Now I don’t want to sell it.” That’s quite the souvenir.

Solana Sierra quickly climbed the ranks, topping Argentina’s U-12 and U-14 categories and winning the U-14 South American Championship in Ecuador in 2018. She earned her first WTA point at 14 years and four months at the Villa del Dique Futures in Córdoba. Her junior career sparkled with a US Open girls’ semi-final in 2021 and a Roland Garros girls’ final in 2022. Fulco, who started coaching her at 14, said, “She was cold-headed when competing. She wouldn’t get angry, didn’t throw matches away, you couldn’t even tell if she was nervous.”

By 2024 and 2025, Sierra’s star kept rising. She won six ITF tournaments in 2024 and earned the ITF World Tennis Tour’s title of “most promising talent of the year.” Her biggest win came in 2025 at the Antalya WTA125, along with two other ITF titles. “It’s a great year for me,” she told EFE after reaching the Valencia WTA 125 quarterfinals. “I’ve been able to secure several of the targets I had, but I keep dreaming and working for it.”

Now, she’s in Round 3 at Wimbledon — the only Argentine winner on Day 1. Meanwhile, top Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, seeded 16th, lost to Portugal’s Nuno Borges. Will Sierra keep shining on the grass? Follow the 2025 Wimbledon Live Blog for all the action!