The 2024 Wimbledon Tennis Championships opened to the anticipation of fans, with a record-breaking total of 11 Chinese players competing in the main singles draws for both men and women. Just as Chinese tennis enthusiasts were still basking in the joy of the growing group advantage of Chinese players in Grand Slam events, the first day of the main draw saw the shock elimination of Zheng Qinwen, China’s top female player. The one who toppled her was New Zealand-born Chinese player Sun Lulu, who had made it through the qualifying rounds.
In the third round of the women’s singles, Sun Lulu defeated another Chinese player, Zhu Lin, through two tie-breaks; on Sunday, she engaged in a three-set battle lasting 2 hours and 50 minutes against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was playing on a wildcard, winning and advancing to the quarterfinals.
In the match against Raducanu, Sun Lulu hit a total of 52 winners, setting the highest single-match record for winners on the women’s side at this year’s Wimbledon; her performance at the net was also impressive, securing 23 points. By the fourth round, Sun Lulu had accumulated a total of 1195 points across her seven victories at this year’s Wimbledon, of which 243 were winners she actively struck, averaging over 20 winners per match, or roughly one winner every five points.
With consecutive breakthroughs at this Wimbledon, Sun Lulu became the first New Zealand player in the Open Era to reach the quarterfinals, joining the ranks of players like Karolina Pliskova, Yanina Wickmayer, Lisa Raymond, Jelena Dokic, Arantxa Parra Santonja, and Kaia Kanepi as the seventh qualifier to make it to the women’s quarterfinals in the Open Era. Her world ranking of No. 123 before the start of Wimbledon makes her the second-lowest-ranked player among quarterfinalists in the past 15 editions of the tournament, only behind Serena Williams’ ranking of No. 181 in 2018.
However, the most astonishing fact is that prior to this Wimbledon, Sun Lulu had only two victories in WTA Tour main draw matches, this being just her fourth appearance in a Grand Slam event and her second at Wimbledon. In her four previous Grand Slam appearances, she had been stopped in the qualifiers in three of them; this year at the Australian Open, she broke through from the qualifiers but exited in the first round of the main draw. At this Wimbledon, after saving a match point in the second round of qualifying, she has since stormed into the quarterfinals!
Sun Lulu’s mother is from Nanchang, China, and her father is from Croatia; she was born on New Zealand’s South Island and moved to Switzerland at the age of five, spending a brief period living in Shanghai. Growing up in a multicultural environment, Sun Lulu is fluent in English, French, and Chinese. “I’m lucky to have these backgrounds; from a young age, I’ve been able to see the world through my family.”
During her junior years, Sun Lulu represented Switzerland in competitions. In her final year, she intended to turn pro directly but was hindered by injuries. Concerned about her education, her mother suggested she attend university first to accumulate experience and mature. During her college years, Sun Lulu helped the University of Texas win the NCAA team championship in 2021, and upon completing her studies, she began her professional career. In March of this year, Sun Lulu chose to represent New Zealand in international competitions and will partner with Rutger Hove in the women’s doubles at the upcoming Paris Olympics later this month.
The success at this Wimbledon will undoubtedly bring many changes for Sun Lulu, but in the post-match press conference, she stated straightforwardly: “My life won’t change much after Wimbledon; I’ll continue to play, compete in the next tournament, and keep training.” Sun Lulu came to Wimbledon with a career-high ranking of No. 123, and with her outstanding performance of seven consecutive victories, she will break into the TOP60 next week. Before this Wimbledon, Sun Lulu’s total career prize money was only $310,000, but reaching the quarterfinals will earn her £375,000. In the quarterfinals, Sun Lulu will face Donna Vekic for a spot in the semifinals, and we look forward together to seeing this Chinese-descent girl continue to create her own legend.