Lulu Sun (formerly known as Lulu Radovcic; born 14 April 2001) is a Swiss New Zealand tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA world of No. 151, achieved on 26 February 2024, and a best doubles ranking of No. 318, reached on 18 March 2024.
Country (sports) | Switzerland (– Mar 2024) New Zealand (Mar 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[citation needed] |
Plays | Left-handed (two-handed backhand) |
College | Texas |
Prize money | US$259,388 |
Singles | |
Career record | 212–120 (63.9%) |
Career titles | 6 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 151 (26 February 2024) |
Current ranking | No. 164 (22 April 2024) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (2024) |
Wimbledon | Q3 (2022) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 60–46 (56.6%) |
Career titles | 3 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 318 (18 March 2024) |
Current ranking | No. 323 (22 April 2024) |
Last updated on: 18 March 2024. |
Career edit
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.[3]
She played college tennis at the University of Texas at Austin[4] and turned pro after graduating in 2022.[citation needed]
She won her first big ITF title at the 2022 Saint-Gaudens Open, partnering Fernanda Contreras in doubles,[5] and made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2022 Morocco Open just two days later, where she received a wildcard into the singles draw.[6]
She made her Grand Slam debut at the 2024 Australian Open,[7][8] and recorded her first win at the WTA 1000 level at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships as a wildcard following the retirement of Paula Badosa. As a result she moved to a new career-high singles ranking of No. 151 on 26 February 2024.
In April 2024 Sun played under the New Zealand flag as part of the New Zealand team for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup.[9][1]
Personal life edit
Sun was born in New Zealand, then moved to Switzerland when she was 5. She attended college in the United States at the University of Texas in Austin, graduating in 2022 with a BA in Political Science.[citation needed]
She has an older sister Phenomena Radovcic (born in 1998) who played in some professional tournaments until 2016.[10][11]
Grand Slam performance timelines edit
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Singles edit
Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 0 / 0 | 0–1 | 0% |
French Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
Wimbledon | Q3 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
US Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0 / 0 | 0–1 | 0% |
ITF Circuit finals edit
Singles: 11 (6 titles, 5 runners-up) edit
|
|
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 | ITF Brasilia, Brazil | W80 | Hard | Léolia Jeanjean | 6–4, 4–6, 6–2 |
Loss | 5–5 | Oct 2023 | ITF Rancho Santa Fe, United States | W60 | Hard | Yuliia Starodubtseva | 5–7, 3–6 |
Win | 6–5 | Feb 2024 | ITF Roehampton, Great Britain | W50 | Hard (i) | Heather Watson | 7–5, 7–5 |
Doubles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runners–up) edit
|
|
Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Jan 2019 | ITF Playford, 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 | ITF Saint-Gaudens, France | W60 | Clay | Fernanda Contreras Gómez | Valentini Grammatikopoulou Anastasia Tikhonova |
7–5, 6–2 |
Win | 2–4 | Feb 2023 | ITF Rome, 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 | ITF Trnava, 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] |
Junior Grand Slam finals edit
Doubles: 1 (runner-up) edit
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 edit
- ^ 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".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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?".
- ^ "The inside story of Lulu Sun's switch to New Zealand".
- ^ https://www.itftennis.com/en/players/phenomena-radovcic/800401010/sui/wt/s/overview/ [bare URL]
- ^ "Women's Tennis Association - Official Website".