Laura Pigossi

Pigossi is an Olympic bronze medallist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the doubles event. She partnered with Luisa Stefani to defeat Veronika Kudermetova and defending gold medallist Elena Vesnina to win the bronze medal. Pigossi and Stefani became the first Brazilians to obtain an Olympic medal in tennis in history, surpassing Fernando Meligeni's campaign that took 4th place in 1996.

The medal was one of the most unexpected: the Brazilians had got an Olympic spot at the last minute, confirmed one week before the Games opened, with Stefani ranked No. 23 in the doubles ranking and Pigossi only at No. 190. Although the Brazilian pair had lost in the only game they played together before, during the overall campaign they managed to save eight match points. In addition to the four in the bronze-medal match, they saved another four in the match against Czech duo Karolína Plíšková/Markéta Vondroušová in the round of 16.

In 2022, she played her first qualifying at a Grand Slam at the Australian Open. After some decent campaigns on the ITF Circuit, Pigossi had her first WTA Tour-level wins at Copa Colsanitas in Bogotá, Colombia, coming from the qualifyings and reaching the finals. The campaign in Bogotá included wins against Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals and top seed Camila Osorio in the semifinals before losing the final to Tatjana Maria. Consequently, Pigossi reached a new career-high (No. 126) in the singles rankings on 11 April 2022. In May, she reached two second rounds at WTA 125-level in Saint-Malo and Karlsruhe. At the French Open, Pigossi made the qualifying draw as the 16th seed.

In June, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon.

At the Guadalajara Open, she made her main-draw debut at the WTA 1000-level as a lucky loser.

She also made her debut at the Australian Open as a lucky loser. In August, Pigossi won her biggest title to date, a $60k held in the Brazilian city of Feira de Santana. During the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Pigossi won both the women's singles and doubles, the first Brazilian to ever do so – as well as the third to medal in both events after Maria Bueno and Gisele Miró – and earning her a spot in the 2024 Olympics singles tournament.

Pigossi would also earn her first WTA 125 title by winning the 2023 WTA Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.

Laura started the 2024 season competing at the Canberra Tennis International. In singles, Pigossi was defeated in her opening match by French player Fiona Ferro in straight sets. In doubles, Pigossi partnered with 18-year-old Filipino Alexandra Eala, advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the Filipino-Brazilian pair was defeated by the Australian team of Kaylah McPhee and Astra Sharma in straight sets.

Laura reached her second WTA 125 doubles final at San Luis Potosí with Polish partner Katarzyna Piter, but they withdrew on the day of the final due to Pigossi’s knee injury. Shortly after, at her debut in the WTA Bogotá, Laura won her opening match against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska, who was coming off a title at San Luis Potosí, before losing her next match to Romanian Irina Bara. She claimed her ninth ITF title at the W50 event in Pretoria, South Africa, defeating Belgian player Hanne Vanderwinkel in the final.

During the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Germany in São Paulo, Laura lost a three-set battle to Tatjana Maria, and withdrew from the following day’s match against Laura Siegemund due to pain, with Carolina Meligeni Alves stepping in as her replacement.

In May 2024, she made her debut at the French Open, after qualifying for the main draw.

In the Olympic tournament, she was defeated in her opening match by Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska. Competing at the inaugural W75 São Paulo event, she won the title in front of her home crowd, defeating Italian player Beatrice Ricci in the final.

At the Billie Jean King Cup tie between Brazil and Argentina which took place in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in 15 and 16 of November. Laura Pigossi was selected to open the series for Brazil, facing Argentina's Solana Sierra. Pigossi aimed to secure an early advantage for Brazil in the playoff tie that would determine the qualifiers for the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in 2025, but Laura Pigossi was unable to secure a victory against Sierra, falling in three sets. This result allowed Argentina to start the series with a lead, putting pressure on the subsequent matches to determine the final outcome.

Following thipressed her disappointment, acknowledging the challenge of not being able to convert the support from the home crowd into a win. She mentioned that despite the encouragement, she struggled to adjust her game plan and felt the pressure of performing on home soil.

On the second day of the competition, Pigossi took to the court with the opportunity to give Brazil a bigger lead, as the score was in 2 X 1 because Beatriz Haddad Maia had won her match against Jazmín Ortenzi on the previous day and her second match against Sierra on that same day. However, she faced a tough challenge against Argentina's Jazmín Ortenzi. Despite her efforts, Pigossi was defeated in a two set match, resulting in Argentina tying the series at 2-2 and forcing the tie to be decided in the doubles match.

After the singles matches concluded, Brazil and Argentina had a decisive doubles match. Beatriz Haddad Maia, together with her partner Carolina Alves, aimed to secure the crucial point for Brazil. The Brazilian team was able to overcome the Argentine duo, leading to winning the series and progressing to the next stage of the Billie Jean King Cup with 3 X 2 in the final score.

Laura Pigossi reflected on the experience, noting the need to quickly shift fure competitions after the loss. She expressed determination to learn from the challenges faced during the series and emphasized the importance of mental resilience in high-stakes matches.