Lulu Sun of New Zealand celebrates her win against Emma Raducanu (GBR) during her Women's singles match at Wimbledon, Sunday 7 July 2024. Photo: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic / www.photosport.nz
Lulu Sun of New Zealand celebrates her win against Emma Raducanu (GBR) during her Women's singles match at Wimbledon, Sunday 7 July 2024. Photo: Chryslene Caillaud / Panoramic / www.photosport.nz
When Lulu Sun arrived at the ASB Classic at the start of this year, she was barely noticed.
That wasn’t a surprise, given she was just another hopeful in the 24-player qualifying draw. The Te Anau-born Sun was ranked 212 — not enough to be among the 12 seeds for qualifying — and was playing under the Swiss flag.
She fought her way into the main draw, then went beyond the first round of a WTA event for only the second time in her career. That was the start of a golden 2024, which culminated in her staggering Wimbledon run, reaching the quarter-finals as a qualifier.
She also featured at the Australian and US Opens, enjoyed some deep runs at ITF events, cracked the top 150, then top 100 and made her first tour-level final in Monterrey in August. Sun also switched allegiance to New Zealand in March, a massive boost for the sport in this country.
Sun is now hot property, recently honoured as the WTA’s newcomer of the year, after climbing more than 170 ranking places last season. She’s a marquee player this time around, featured on billboards around the city. Her status was epitomised on Sunday — more than a week before the tournament — as she held a training session with young players at Sunnyhills Club in East Auckland, before facing interviews with television, radio and print outlets.
Now ranked at No 40, it can make for a much-heavier schedule, compared with her relative anonymity in the past few years.
“I definitely didn’t think that tennis players were that busy,” Sun told the Herald. “I thought that — yeah — I’m just going to finish my match and go home and recover and so doing more and more things I realised how important time management was to be able to perform.
“It is really important to be able to manage what you should do during the day and what you shouldn’t. At first, it was a bit overwhelming because I wasn’t used to it but I learned to manage things better.”
But Sun — who was in a relaxed frame of mind following a positive off-season — insists she is still the same person.
“I keep my time during practices, I try to do similar things that I have done in the past. I don’t think I have changed that much.”
Lulu Sun grabbed the world's attention with her Wimledon run. Photo / AELTC / Jonathan Nackstrand.
But things are definitely different. Most of last year was spent at ITF events in far-flung locations — now she can tailor her schedule around the big WTA tournaments. And from being a relative unknown, Sun has a profile, with a following to match. Does that bring pressure?
“It depends how you look at it,” she said. “I’m sure yes, there is pressure because there are more expectations, I guess, but pressure is a good thing in a way. It can keep you in check and it can motivate you as well.”
She admits the events of the past 12 months still seem a bit surreal, following her turbocharged lift-off. Before 2024, she had played five WTA matches across her entire career and faced a top-50 player just once. Last season, she lined up in 20 tour-level matches, with nine against top-50 opposition. And she featured in the main draw at three grand slams, along with three WTA 1000 events.
“We were seeking to get into the top 100 this year and we have done better than expected, so in a way yes [it was a bit unbelievable],” she said. “But I have been working hard for a couple of years now and since I started tennis so I think it was only a matter of time before I got there.”
Asked for her favourite 2024 memory, she replied there were “multiple”.
“Everyone remembers Wimbledon but definitely before Roland Garros I had those good ITF tournaments that really brought the momentum for the season. And beginning in Auckland, going through qualifiers [at the Australian Open].”
But that unforgettable fortnight at SW19 will always resonate. She battled her way through three qualifying matches just to make the tournament proper, including a nail-biter in the second, where she prevailed 8-6 in a final set tiebreak.
Then came the first-round shock, as she toppled the eighth seed and 2024 Australian Open finalist Zheng Qinwen 4-6 6-2 6-4.
That made headlines but it was her fourth-round clash with local favourite Emma Raducanu — on a capacity centre court and viewed by a massive BBC audience — that really put her on the map. She retains vivid memories of that match, especially the final point in the 6-2 5-7 6-2 win.
“I was just thinking, put your first serve in, place it and try to open the court, open the rally where you can come in, she recalled. “But I didn’t have to do that. I served it and then she hit it out. I was like, ‘Oh my god, oh, I won’.”
Sun’s road to more such memories starts next week at the ASB Classic, where she will be fourth seed.
“I am super excited to be playing again [here],” she said. “It was a big part of my season this year and I really enjoyed my time. I love the courts, love the atmosphere.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.
