New Zealand's Lulu Sun reached the quarter-final of the Wimbledon 2024 after she defeated local favourite Emma Raducanu in the fourth round. (More Tennis News)
Sun defeated Raducanu, who herself is of multi-ethnic origin. Sun won 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to make her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final. Her quarter-final berth made her the second woman from New Zealand to reach a Grand Slam women's singles quarter-final after Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open.
Speaking of Raducanu, she too hails from a multi-ethnic background. Born in Toronto, Canada, Raducanu's father, Ian, is Romanian while her mother, Renee, is Chinese. At two years of age, Emma moved to London.
So Who Is Lulu Sun?
Sun was born in New Zealand on April 14, 2001 to a Chinese mother and a Croatian father. After spending some time in China, Sun moved back to Switzerland at the age of five with her mother and stepfather, who hails from England.
At the 2018 Australian Open, Sun came as a runners-up in the girls' doubles. At the University of Texas, Sun was also part of the women's tennis team until her graduation in 2022. She was also part of 2021 NCAA Division 1 title winning team.
Sun registered her first ITF title in 2022 and then went on to make her WTA tour debut at the Morocco Open as a wildcard entrant, only to lose to Arantxa Rus in the first round.
At the 2024 Australian Open, Sun lost in the opening round to Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy 6-1, 7-5. She then received a wildcard entry at the Dubai Tennis Championships and registered her first win thanks to her opponent Paula Badosa's retirement mid-match.
Sun switched her nationality, from Switzerland to New Zealand, in April this year. She won another ITF title in June and that helped her reached a career-high ranking of 123. With a dream run at the Wimbledon 2024 still on, Sun can get herself up into the top 80 in the women's rankings.
Sun will face Donna Venkic in the quarter-finals at the Wimbledon 2024.
