Lulu Sun
Country (sports) | Switzerland (– Apr 2024) New Zealand (Apr 2024 –)[1][2] |
---|---|
Residence | Geneva, Switzerland |
Born | Te Anau, New Zealand | 14 April 2001
Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Turned pro | 2022 |
Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
College | Texas |
Coach | Vladimír Pláteník[3] |
Prize money | US$ 313,832 |
Singles | |
Career record | 220–121 |
Career titles | 7 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 123 (24 June 2024) |
Current ranking | No. 123 (24 June 2024) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2024) |
French Open | Q2 (2024) |
Wimbledon | QF (2024) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 66–47 |
Career titles | 4 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 219 (6 May 2024) |
Current ranking | No. 220 (24 June 2024) |
Last updated on: 25 June 2024. |
Lulu Sun (born Lulu Radovcic; 14 April 2001) is a New Zealand and Swiss tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of No. 123, achieved on 24 June 2024, and a best doubles ranking of No. 219, reached on 6 May 2024.
Early and personal life
Sun was born in New Zealand to a Croatian father and a Chinese mother. She was raised in Switzerland from the age of five, where she completed her school education. She attended college in the United States at the University of Texas at Austin,[4] graduating in 2022 with a BA in Political Science.[5]
She has an older sister, Phenomena Sun (born in 1998), who played in professional tournaments until 2016.[6]
Career
Juniors
Sun represented Switzerland as a junior, finishing runner-up with Violet Apisah in the 2018 Australian Open girls' doubles, but also played under the New Zealand flag at junior Wimbledon that year, losing in the second round in singles and the first round in doubles.[7]
2022: Professional and WTA Tour debuts
Before turning pro in 2022,[5] Sun played college tennis at the University of Texas in Austin.[8] In 2021, she competed in the NCAA DI women’s tennis championship for UT Austin, clinching the match and winning the third NCAA championship for UT's women's tennis program.[9]
In May 2022, she won her first big ITF title at the Saint-Gaudens Open, partnering Fernanda Contreras in doubles.[10] She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Morocco Open just two days later, where she received a wildcard into the singles draw.[11]
2024: Major, WTA 1000 debuts, historic Wimbledon quarterfinal, top 55
Sun made her Grand Slam debut at the 2024 Australian Open after qualifying.[12][13] On her WTA 1000 debut, she recorded her first win at that level at the Dubai Championships as a wildcard, following the retirement of Paula Badosa.[14] As a result, she moved to a new career-high singles ranking of No. 151, on 26 February 2024.
In April, Sun played under the New Zealand flag for the first time as part of the team for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup.[15][1] In May, Sun won the singles and doubles titles at the W100 Bonita Springs tournament in Florida.[16] She reached the top 125 on 17 June 2024.
She qualified for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships making her debut at this major and upset eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round.[17] It was her first top 10 win, and also her first completed victory over any player in the top 100.[4] Next, she reached the third round with a win over fellow qualifier Yulia Starodubtseva[18] and the fourth with a win over Zhu Lin.[19] She equalled the feat of reaching the fourth round at the All England Club as the first New Zealand female player in the Open Era, and second after Dame Ruia Morrison in 1957 and 1959.[20][21] She reached her first quarterfinal with a win over Emma Raducanu becoming the first New Zealand woman to ever reach that stage at Wimbledon in the Open Era. She was only the second woman from New Zealand to reach a Major quarterfinal, following Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open.[22] As a result, she climbed into the top 55, having moved 70 positions up in the WTA rankings. She will play Donna Vekić in the quarterfinals.
Grand Slam performance timelines
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Singles
Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
French Open | A | A | Q2 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
Wimbledon | Q3 | A | QF | 0 / 1 | 4–0 | – |
US Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0 / 2 | 4–1 | 0% |
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runner-ups)
|
|
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Oct 2017 | ITF Nonthaburi, Thailand | W15 | Hard | Choi Ji-hee | 2–6, 3–6 |
Win | 1–1 | Feb 2019 | ITF Port Pirie, Australia | W15 | Hard | Jennifer Elie | 6–2, 6–3 |
Win | 2–1 | Feb 2019 | ITF Perth, Australia | W15 | Hard | Jennifer Elie | 7–6(1), 6–3 |
Loss | 2–2 | Nov 2020 | ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | W15 | Hard | Joanna Garland | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 3–2 | Dec 2020 | ITF Monastir, Tunisia | W15 | Hard | Carole Monnet | 6–0, 2–6, 6–2 |
Loss | 3–3 | Jun 2021 | ITF Palma del Río, Spain | W25 | Hard | Rebeka Masarova | 3–6, 6–1, 6–7(4) |
Win | 4–3 | Jul 2021 | ITF Lisbon, Portugal | W25 | Hard | Ellen Perez | 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 4–4 | Jan 2023 | ITF Boca Raton, United States | W25 | Clay | Renata Zarazúa | 2–6, 5–7 |
Win | 5–4 | Aug 2023 | Aberto da República, Brazil | W80 | Hard | Léolia Jeanjean | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 |
Loss | 5–5 | Oct 2023 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States | W60 | Hard | Yuliia Starodubtseva | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 6–5 | Feb 2024 | ITF Roehampton, United Kingdom | W50 | Hard (i) | Heather Watson | 7–5, 7–5 |
Win | 7–5 | May 2024 | Bonita Springs Championship, United States | W100 | Clay | Maya Joint | 6–1, 6–3 |
Doubles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runner–ups)
|
|
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Jan 2019 | Playford International, Australia | W25 | Hard | Amber Marshall | Giulia Gatto-Monticone Anastasia Grymalska |
2–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 0–2 | Nov 2020 | ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | W15 | Hard | Valentina Ryser | Ksenia Laskutova Daria Mishina |
6–7(3), 7–6(2), [10–12] |
Loss | 0–3 | Nov 2020 | ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | W15 | Hard | Valentina Ryser | Elina Avanesyan Iryna Shymanovich |
4–6, 1–6 |
Loss | 0–4 | Jun 2021 | ITF Palma del Río, Spain | W25 | Clay | Himari Sato | Eri Hozumi Valeria Savinykh |
6–7(6), 3–6 |
Win | 1–4 | May 2022 | Open Saint-Gaudens, France | W60 | Clay | Fernanda Contreras Gómez | Valentini Grammatikopoulou Anastasia Tikhonova |
7–5, 6–2 |
Win | 2–4 | Feb 2023 | Georgia's Rome Open, United States | W60 | Hard (i) | Fanny Stollár | Mana Ayukawa Gabriela Knutson |
6–3, 6–0 |
Loss | 2–5 | Jul 2023 | ITF Corroios, Portugal | W25 | Hard | Sofia Costoulas | Talia Gibson Petra Hule |
3–6, 6–3, [6–10] |
Win | 3–5 | Feb 2024 | Trnava Indoor, Slovakia | W50 | Hard (i) | Moyuka Uchijima | Weronika Falkowska Fanny Stollár |
6–4, 7–6(3) |
Loss | 3–6 | Mar 2024 | Říčany Open, Czech Republic | W75 | Hard (i) | Fanny Stollár | Gabriela Knutson Tereza Valentová |
4–6, 6–3, [4–10] |
Win | 4–6 | May 2024 | Bonita Springs Championship, United States | W100 | Clay | Fanny Stollár | Valentini Grammatikopoulou Valeriya Strakhova |
6–4, 7–6(3) |
Top 10 wins
She has a 1–0 (100%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
# | Opponent | Rank | Event | Surface | Round | Score | LSR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | |||||||
1. | Zheng Qinwen | 8 | Wimbledon Championships, United Kingdom | Grass | 1R | 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 | 123 |
Junior Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 2018 | Australian Open | Hard | Violet Apisah | Liang En-shuo Wang Xinyu |
6–7(4–7), 6–4, [5–10] |
References
- ^ a b "ASB Classic star Lulu Sun confirms switch from Switzerland to New Zealand". 14 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Lulu Sun's announcement on her Instagram".
- ^ "Lulu Sun on her switch to New Zealand, Te Anau memories, Olympic dreams and French Open hopes". 17 May 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Six things to know about Lulu Sun after her Wimbledon upset of Zheng". 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Wimbledon: Where Did Lulu Sun Go to College? Everything to Know About Emma Raducanu's Opponent's Academic Life". Essentially Sports. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Phenomena Radovcic Overview". Women's Tennis Association – Official Website.
- ^ "Teen tennis prospect Lulu Sun sends signal on sticking with New Zealand". www.stuff.co.nz. 8 July 2018.
- ^ "Lulu Sun - Women's Tennis". University of Texas Athletics.
- ^ "Texas wins 2021 NCAA DI women's tennis championship". NCAA.com. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Lulu Sun | Player Stats & More – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association.
- ^ "Welcome to the tour: All of 2022's WTA debutantes". WTA Tennis. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Aussie Open 2024's Slam debuts: Korneeva, Seidel, Starodubtseva and more".
- ^ "What next for Lulu Sun and Tennis New Zealand?".
- ^ "Dubai Open: Wildcard Sun through to second round after Badosa retirement". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "The inside story of Lulu Sun's switch to New Zealand".
- ^ "Sun shines in Florida with biggest title yet at W100 Bonita Springs". 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Wimbledon: Sun sets for Qinwen Zheng as the eighth seed exits in first round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Wimbledon: Qualifier Sun moves into third round with win over Starodubtseva". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Wimbledon: Sun makes history for New Zealand". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "Lulu Sun reaches Wimbledon's fourth round after beating Lin Zhu in straight sets". 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "New Zealand-born, Swiss-raised Lulu Sun shining brighter than ever at Wimbledon". 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "New Zealand's Sun stuns Raducanu to make Wimbledon quarterfinals". WTAtennis.com. 7 July 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
External links
- 2001 births
- Living people
- Swiss female tennis players
- New Zealand female tennis players
- Tennis players from Geneva
- Texas Longhorns women's tennis players
- Expatriate tennis players in the United States
- New Zealand people of Hong Kong descent
- New Zealand people of Croatian descent
- Swiss people of Hong Kong descent
- Swiss people of Croatian descent
- People from Te Anau
- Tennis players at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics