‘Lucky loser’ Solana Sierra loses in round of 16 but her racket and clothing to be kept in Wimbledon museum for her unique feat

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Wimbledon: The Argentine media has been breathlessly covering Solana's progress, sharing stories about the frequent hotel changes to any tidbits from her during the progress. (AP)

The ‘lucky loser’ Solana Sierra, who had to change hotels at least four times as her fortunes kept rising at the Wimbledon extending her stay, has finally lost in the round of 16.

She nearly didn’t make it to the main draw as she had lost in the qualifying game, but when the German Greet Minnen withdrew from the tournament, Sierra’s chance came. The 21-year-old was told she is the ‘lucky loser’ and has qualified but has to be on court in “one hour”. She kept winning her games in every round, and had to change hotels accordingly to adapt to her progress.

The dream run finally ended at the hands of the German Laura Siegemund 2-6, 3-6 at the weekend. The Argentine media has been breathlessly covering her progress, sharing stories about the frequent hotel changes to any tidbits from her during the progress.

It was a dream run indeed. The Argentine newspaper Clarin reported that Wimbledon officials made a special request to her, asking her to leave the racket and clothing she wore in her matches to be kept on display at the Wimbledon museum as she was the first ‘lucky loser’ to reach the round of 16 of the women’s singles in the Open Era.

Siegemund does it in straight sets 👊

Laura Siegemund defeats Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2 to advance to her first ever #Wimbledon quarter-finals 👏 pic.twitter.com/76WpBuTpyU

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2025

“”I’m a little sad. I really wanted to keep moving forward, to keep winning, but I think it’s been a very positive two weeks for me. It’s been a dream, honestly,” Sierra admitted in an interview with ESPN. “I think if you had asked me before qualifying started, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d be in the second week, so I’m super happy about that.”

Her mother has been with her at the Wimbledon, though she did wish for her father too had been present to witness the dream run. “Maybe having my dad here would be very special. They’ve been my pillars since I was little and have always supported me,” she had told Clarin at the end of her penultimate game. “And for him to see me here, at this stage of a Grand Slam, would be very special for me.”

She also spoke about her idol Serena Williams. “I always say that when I was little, I watched Serena Williams a lot, and she’s the one I remember most from watching on TV. And now, it’s Sabalenka I like the most.”

Clarin summed up the journey with this: “Although she wanted to follow in the footsteps of Paola Suárez , the last Argentine to reach the quarterfinals on the London grass in 2004, having reached this stage ensures that she will climb about 35 places in the WTA ranking , to 66th (she will enter the main draw of the US Open, for example),and a prize of 327,000 dollars , double what she had earned up to this point in her entire career, where she had performed in just two Grand Slam main draws (US Open 2024 and Roland Garros 2025).”

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