As a young girl, Lulu Sun ran through the fields of the South Island and embraced farming life. Having left New Zealand at the age of five, she is back to represent her native country and take her tennis to the world stage.
Sun, now 23, was born in Te Anau before moving to Switzerland at the age of five. She later received a scholarship to the University of Texas, where she played college tennis for their Longhorns team while studying for a BA in Political Science.
As her tennis career developed, Sun broke into the world top 500 in 2019, before injuries and the Covid pandemic slowed her progress. She turned professional in 2022 and was on the fringe of the world's top 200 by the end of 2023, with her ranking at 214.
Sun represented Switzerland but had always retained a New Zealand passport and loved her early years here. In December last year, Tennis New Zealand national coach Chris Bint contacted Sun and from there discussions began about her possible move to the New Zealand tennis program. The following month was Sun's performance at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
“I was very happy to return there [to New Zealand] because it had been a while since I had been there and then playing ASB was really great. It's a great tournament and the experience was incredible,” said Sun.
“I felt the energy of the crowd and I was very excited about that, and also about Tennis New Zealand itself. I saw the opportunity and growth this could have for the future,” she says.
After working her way through qualifying to reach the main draw in Auckland, Sun went beyond the first round of a Women's Tennis Association (WTA) level event for the second time, before losing to then No. 43 of the world, Varvara Gracheva.
Later in January, Sun successfully progressed through the Australian Open qualifying match and faced Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the first round of the main draw, where she was defeated 6–1, 7–5.
Then came the announcement in mid-March that Sun had switched his national allegiance from Switzerland. Speaking to LockerRoom this weekend from Bratislava, Slovakia, Sun reflected on her choice.
“It's a difficult decision. Obviously I have been playing for Switzerland for a number of years, but I saw the growth that New Zealand could have and the opportunity to lead New Zealand,” she said.
In April, Sun played under the New Zealand flag for the first time since the announcement, as part of the team for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup in China. The team finished fourth out of six countries in the Asia/Oceania Group I tournament and retained their league status for 2025.
“It was an incredible experience. Representing your country as a team is very different from playing individual tournaments all year round and I really got to experience that with the girls. It was also wonderful to play with Erin [Routliffe] even though we lost, but we fought until the end. It was truly an honor and a special moment to be in China and play for New Zealand,” said Sun.
The partnership between Routliffe and Sun is potentially one that could be seen in Paris at the Olympic women's doubles, although Sun will need the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to grant an exemption as potential Olympians must compete in at least two national team events (Davis Cup or Billie Jean King Cup) if she partners Routliffe, who won the 2023 US Open women's doubles title with her partner, Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski
“In college I played doubles and after college I only played here and there because I wanted to focus on singles, but I enjoy playing it and it's kind of fun to have someone on the court with you,” Sun says.
Earlier this month, Sun won the biggest title of her career by winning the NZ$166,000 World Tennis Tour tournament in Bonita Springs, Florida, beating Maya Joint of the United States 6-1 6-3 in the final . After winning the singles, Sun also played in the doubles final, where she and her Hungarian partner Fanny Stollar defeated Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece and Ukraine's Valeriya Strakhova 6-4 7-5.
“We worked quite hard before the tournament when we switched from hard court to clay. We worked on both the physical and tennis side and during the tournament I fought every match and managed every match better than my opponent that day, and in the end the hard work paid off and that was good,” said Sun.
Last week, Sun took part in the qualifying match for the main draw of the French Open. Needing three straight wins, she exited the second round, losing 6-1 6-2 to Eva Lys of Germany.
“Obviously we didn't get the results we wanted, but it was a good experience and I got to feel what it was like to play at the French Open with all those different background sounds and how everything works there, so I'm just going to be myself now to prepare for upcoming tournaments,” says Sun.
“I think my game is suitable for any surface. Obviously I didn't play at my best and my opponent played better than me that day, but I think overall, with the tournaments I've played on clay this year, I've had a decent number of wins, so I think I am on the right track,” she says.
From Bratislava, Sun will travel to Germany to take part in an ITF tournament in Troisdorf between May 27 and June 2, and from there she will take part in a WTA 125 tournament in Makarska, Croatia, between June 4 and 9, with both tournaments taking place on clay. She then plans to play a few grass tournaments in preparation for qualifying for Wimbledon later in June. It's all part of Sun's journey to climb the ladder.
“I want to consistently appear at Grand Slams and the WTA tournaments as I work and strive to move up the rankings and play against the best women in the world,” she says.
Sun also has advice for young tennis players in New Zealand who want to make their way to the top of the sport.
“You have to work hard, whatever your goal is, but also work and compete with yourself and not compare yourself to others. You are on your own path and this will be your career and your life so you shouldn't think too much about how other people get their results or what they do because time has a limit and you should really enjoy where you are on this you are currently working on.”