How quickly things can turn in tennis.

Last Thursday, a despondent Solana Sierra was contemplating a far less illustrious stop in her tennis schedule, having surrendered a match point in the final round of qualifying against Australia’s Talia Gibson. After leading by 5-3 in the third set, the Argentine dropped the last four games as her Wimbledon dream unravelled.

On Friday, the world No.101 from Argentina will instead face Cristina Bucsa in the third round of The Championships after capitalising superbly on a last-minute main draw entry as a lucky loser.

“Crazy,” a smiling Sierra related of the turnaround. “Because I was already out of the tournament but yeah, I'm super happy that I took the opportunity.”

The 21-year-old learned she would be competing at SW19 this week only 15 minutes before taking to the court in the first round, creating a sense of freedom in a straight-sets win over Australia's Olivia Gadecki.

“I didn't have too much time,” she recalled. “I just changed, we took five minutes and then entered the court. But it was good because I didn't think too much.”

There was of course more time to contemplate a second round meeting with world No.43 Brit Katie Boulter on the prestigious No.1 court, but Sierra embraced the occasion with a 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-1, victory that was also her top-50 win.

“I was more nervous before the match but when I stepped on the court I was just really happy to be on that court,” said Sierra. “I enjoyed every moment.”

With the first two Grand Slam main draw match wins of her career banked this week, Sierra has achieved a milestone of sorts for Argentina.

She is the first woman from her nation to progress so far at The Championships since Gisela Dulko in 2009. She names Gabriela Sabatini, who made history as a ladies’ finalist at 1991 Wimbledon, as a role model and has watched many of her countrywoman’s matches on YouTube. Juan Martin Del Potro and Diego Schwartzman are referenced as other prominent Argentine influences.

There’s also a Grand Slam great providing an impact of sorts, with Sierra basing herself at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca since March. It coincides with the most rapid progress of her career, in which she has climbed from world No.167 at the start of the year to making her top-100 debut last month.

Remarkably, Sierra’s 2025 Wimbledon campaign marks only the second time she’s competed on grass at pro level. Having proven her credentials on clay as a runner-up to Czech Lucie Havlickova in the 2022 Roland-Garros girl’s final, Sierra explained she’s now learned the art of “staying low” on the less familiar surface.

“Last year I played qualies here in Wimbledon and I liked it,” said Sierra, who was born in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. “This year we trained like one week before the tournament started and I wasn't feeling too good but at the same time, I was liking [it]. But now I think my game is good for the grass and I like it.”  

The only challenge, perhaps, is logistics.  Amid the fast-changing circumstances of losing in qualifying then gaining main draw entry and winning consecutive matches, Sierra had already changed accommodation three times in London and was preparing for another move after victory over Boulter.

Still, there are all positives for the young competitor, who hopes to celebrate her SW19 progress with a necklace that was previously beyond her budget.   

First, though, there’s a focus on another opportunity at The Championships. “It means a lot,” she smiled. “But yeah, I'm still in the tournament. Of course, I'm really happy, but I want to keep going.”