It was an incredible Wednesday at Roland Garros 2026 for Argentine tennis, as Solana Sierra beat former World No.4 Jasmine Paolini from Italy 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the third round.
Sierra, the only Argentine representative in the women’s singles draw, secured the biggest win of her career and became the first Argentine to reach the third round in the women’s draw since Nadia Podoroska in 2020.
It was a two-hour, 11-minute battle for Sierra, who at one point trailed 6-3, 4-2. However, she found better attacking options with her forehand, while ankle problems hampered Paolini, allowing Sierra to fight her way back into the match and seal the win.
“I kept being positive despite being down,” she said after the match. “I tried to enjoy the atmosphere, and that’s how the win came.”
Sierra said Paolini improved after having her ankle looked at by the court physio, so she had to stay focused and play her game.
“I had to be brave at the end,” she stated.
It’s Sierra’s second big win of the tournament, after she ousted Britain’s Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, 6-0, 7-6(4), on Sunday.
She’ll face off against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, currently ranked 18th in the world, on Friday.
One through and three out in the men’s draw
Sierra wasn’t the only Argentine to make it into the third round at Roland Garros.
Thiago Tirante — 60th in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings — pushed through in the men’s draw after defeating Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich (23) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-3 in a four-hour match.
The player from La Plata will face another experienced Spaniard in former top-ten Pablo Carreño Busta (currently ranked 89) on Friday.
Another who fought hard was Mariano Navone (38), who faced a marathon match against Czech Jakub Mensik (27). Despite saving six match points, he fell 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6, and 7-6 (11), after 4 hours and 41 minutes.
Marco Trungelliti (81) fought hard but couldn’t make it past Russia’s Karen Khachanov (15), falling 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Camilo Ugo Carabelli fell to another Russian, Andrey Rublev (13), by 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, and 7-6 (5), after three hours and nine minutes of play.
