New Zealand’s Lulu Sun wins opening-round match at Wimbledon, stunning Chinese eighth seed Qinwen Zheng

Lulu Sun of New Zealand plays a backhand to Qinwen Zheng of China in the first round at Wimbledon. Photo / Getty Images

Lulu Sun has caused an upset on Court Three at Wimbledon by defeating eighth seed and Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng in the opening round.

Sun is the first New Zealander to win a singles match at the tennis grand slam since Marina Erakovic in 2016 after completing a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory.

The 23-year-old qualifier got the pivotal break in the 10th game in the final set with Zheng losing the match on a double fault, her eighth of the match.

Sun will face Ukraine qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva and world number 153 in the second round.

Today’s win was her first in the main draw at a grand slam after making her debut earlier in the year, playing under the Switzerland flag at the Australian Open, losing in the first round.

“It’s a huge win for me and it’s a huge win for New Zealand as well,” Sun said.

“It goes to show that with hard work you can pull through anything. But it also gives a view to the younger generation that these New Zealanders can push through on the big stages.”

What an upset 😯

Lulu Sun defeats the No.8 seed Qinwen Zheng on her Wimbledon debut 🇳🇿#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bzNhZaj241

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2024

The match was originally scheduled to be played on Court 18, but was moved after third seed Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the tournament.