Wimbledon’s Lucky Loser Makes History While Grabbing Over $200k

The lucky loser is an interesting concept in tennis, wherein if someone withdraws from the tournament, then the next highest-ranked player who didn’t initially qualify gets a chance to compete, and in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, that is exactly what happened. 21-year-old Argentinian player Solana Sierra, who was ranked 101 on the WTA tour, unfortunately didn’t qualify for the tournament after losing to Germany’s Greet Minen in the qualifying rounds; however, after Minen withdrew from the tournament on Monday due to a back injury, Sierra was back in and then some.

Not only did Sierra make it back into Wimbledon, but she has now made it to the Women’s Singles 4th round. But let’s backtrack a little. In the first round Sierra played Olivia Gadecki, whom she beat 6-2, 7(10)-6(8), and then came round two, where Sierra managed to get the better of Britain’s own Katie Boulter with a final score of 6(7)-7(9), 6-2, 6-1. Then, however, came the third round, where Sierra faced off against Cristina Bucsa, ranked at World No. 40, and, well, here’s how that went.

With her 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 win over Bucsa in two hours, Sierra has been dubbed an “Argentine sensation.” The commentators went on to praise Sierra, saying, “Solana Sierra wins the clash of the underdogs; her fairy tale run continues into a maiden fourth round at Wimbledon. She overcame a stiff challenge today, a performance imbued with utter conviction and self-belief.”

Sierra’s reaction was self-explanatory; she dropped her racket on the grass in relief and perhaps some disbelief. She then went to share an emotional moment with her proud team in the stands. This win makes Sierra the first lucky loser in history to reach the Wimbledon Women’s Single’s 4th round and also bags her an assured £240,000 (approx. 327,508.68)!

What’s next for Solana Sierra in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships?

To say the Argentinian Solana Sierra wasn’t expecting to progress this far in the tournament is an enormous understatement. Sierra was in fact, convinced she’d been leaving, and when she was told fifteen minutes before she had to hit the grass that she was going to advance because of the Lucky Loser clause, her and her mother had to find new accommodation to cover the extension of their stay.

To make things even more interesting, this year’s Wimbledon is Sierra’s second ever time playing on grass! But her natural play, and instinctual responses don’t make it seem that way. Sierra commented on her game this year saying, “I got really lucky. I’m very happy to be here and I feel like I’m making the most of the opportunity,” she added with regard to how quickly it all happened, i.e., her being informed fifteen minutes before the fact that she would have to hit the court, “It was actually good it happened that way — I didn’t have time to overthink!” 

On June 6th Sierra takes on Germany’s Laura Siegemund.  At 37 years old, Siegemund has years and experience on Sierra, who, in turn, currently has the adrenaline rush of this wave of luck. It’ll be an interesting match to watch, with Siegemund who had a career high of ranking number 4 in the Women’s Doubles category!