A Southland town is in a frenzy of excitement after one of its young people achieved a massive upset in the world of tennis. Te Anau native Lulu Sun defeated Qinwen Zheng, ranked eighth in the world, in the opening round of the Wimbledon women’s singles. Additionally, Sun and Grand Slam champion Erin Routliffe were selected on Wednesday to play doubles for New Zealand in the Olympic Games in Paris.
Wimbledon Quarterfinals:
As a qualifier, 23-year-old Lulu Sun of New Zealand is making her grand debut at the 2024 Wimbledon, having advanced to the fourth round. At the All England Club during the Open Era, she became the first female from her nation to reach this level.
Sun’s Wimbledon campaign got a great start as she defeated Miriam Bulgaru 6-2, 6-1 in her opening qualifying round. She faced some challenges in the following round but prevailed over Gabriela Knutson in three sets after saving a match point.
In her last qualifying round, Sun overcame Alex Eala to secure her spot in a significant main draw for the second time, having previously done so at SW19. Her first victory over a player ranked in the top ten came when she overcame World No. 8 Zheng Qinwen in her first set.
In the second round, she made another comeback, defeating Yulia Starodubtsewa, a fellow qualifier. The 23-year-old advanced to the fourth round of a Major for the first time by defeating Zhu Lin 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6). Here’s all you need to know about the tournament’s breakout player as her star continues to shine brightly in London:
Who is Lulu Sun?
On April 14, 2001, Sun was born to a Croatian father and a Chinese mother in New Zealand. She lived briefly in Shanghai, China, before moving to Switzerland at age five with her mother and Devon, England-born stepfather.
As a junior, Sun’s most noteworthy performance occurred in the 2018 Australian Open, when she placed second in the girls’ doubles competition. She played women’s tennis for the University of Texas at Austin team until she received her BA in political science in 2022. She was a member of the victorious squad that won the NCAA Division championship in 2021.
Sun made her WTA Tour debut the following week at the Morocco Open as a wildcard, losing to Arantxa Rus in her opening match. Sun won her first ITF title in May 2022. Up until this year, her primary competition was on the ITF circuit.
Sun fell in the first round of her Major debut despite qualifying for the Australian Open. Having been given a wildcard to the Dubai Tennis Championships, she triumphed in her first match there following Paula Badosa’s mid-match retirement.
In April of this year, Sun changed her nationality to represent her birthplace of New Zealand, having previously represented Switzerland for a considerable time. Following her June ITF title victory in Florida, she peaked at No. 123 in her career. She is expected to at least place in the top 80 of the WTA rankings due to her performance at Wimbledon.
On Sunday, July 7, Lulu Sun will play her most challenging match of the Wimbledon tournament when she takes on the very skilled Emma Raducanu in the fourth round. In the third round, the latter defeated Maria Sakkari 6-2, 6-3, and hasn’t lost a set yet.
As a qualifier, Raducanu became victorious in the US Open in 2021, and now Sun is also halfway there. The Kiwi has a difficult task ahead of her, but if she keeps playing this way, she might pull off yet another shock.
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