Last week, Erika Andreeva was in Roehampton, getting beaten by Britain’s Sonay Kartal, who is now world No 298, and knocked out No 29 seed Sorana Cirstea in the first round at SW19. Ordinarily, Andreeva would have been watching on.
Then, on Monday morning, the ping came through: Aryna Sabalenka, world No 3, had withdrawn from Wimbledon at the eleventh hour with a frustrating shoulder injury, only painful when she was serving. Andreeva, the so-called lucky loser, was back in the game.
The Russian 20-year-old, elder sister to rising star Mirra, faced American Emina Bektas in Sabalenka’s stead, and took full advantage of her opportunity, winning 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 to go along with the £60,000 attached to making the first round of Wimbledon.
She was the only lucky loser in the women’s draw to triumph, with Renata Zarazua losing out against Emma Raducanu, Elsa Jacquemot falling to Sloane Stephens, and Olga Danilovic losing against Anca Todoni. Erika will now take on Donna Vekic of Croatia in the second round.
GO FURTHER
Wimbledon recap day one: Coco Gauff joined by lucky losers in women’s draw, Tiafoe rises