Who is Lulu Sun? Small New Zealand town supports young tennis star

And Georgie Hanafin

Lulu Sun celebrates her victory over China's Zheng Qinwen during their women's tennis match.
Photo: AFP

Speculation is rife in a Southland town that one of its young players has caused a huge upset on the world tennis stage.

Te Anau-born Lulu Sun has defeated world number eight Qinwen Zheng in the first round of the women's singles at Wimbledon.

And on Wednesday, Sun was selected to represent New Zealand in doubles at the Paris Olympics, partnering Grand Slam winner Erin Routliffe.

Sun moved from Switzerland to New Zealand in March and became the first New Zealand player in seven years to reach a Grand Slam singles tournament.

According to Te Anau tennis player Phil Marsh, her talent was apparent from an early age.

Marsh last played her 10 years ago, when she was 13.

Sun and her sister were looking for a partner to marry one summer evening and he was one of those called upon to help.

“I remember at one point I was following the ball into the net and thinking 'oh well, this might be a volley I can clear here' but she released my grip on the racket in my hand. It was a bit of a shock to feel that much power at that moment. She was very good,” Marsh said.

He assumed Sun wouldn't remember him, but he never forgot her sheer power on the court.

“I've always kept an eye on where she was going and what number in the world she was going to. I've actually followed her career with interest.”

Lulu Sun last played in Te Anau in 2018 – an exhibition match at the tennis club's annual tournament.

Lulu Sun during her match against McCarlney Kessler at the ASB Classic in Auckland in March this year.
Photo: Photo sports

Club president Greg Sheppard said Sun had kept in touch with her since she moved abroad at the age of five and that her grandparents still lived nearby.

“Every time she comes back, we seem to hear from her. She's always looking for partners to hit with and things like that,” he said.

“[Her grandparents] She lives in a beautiful area, and they have a nice tennis court, so everyone wants to play with her there, but she's just getting a bit too good for us now.”

He admitted he was too scared to score a hit with Sun as a teenager, let alone now.

It's also been a little harder to watch her lately, Sheppard said, especially since the New Zealand streaming rights before the tournament was unclear.

“We've all been trying to figure out where we could watch it and where we could watch the next one [game]”I've spoken to Tennis New Zealand to see if they can put pressure on someone somewhere to get it on TV. We'd like to get a group together to watch the next match. We think she'll have a good chance of winning then.”

TVNZ has now announced that Wimbledon will be shown live every night from 10pm on TVNZ+.

Sheppard said it was great to see someone from Aotearoa make it to one of tennis' biggest stages, and tennis fans across the country were very excited about it.

“We are quite isolated here in New Zealand. But if you are willing and able to make the effort and travel, then you can actually [make the dream happen],” he said.

“It will definitely be good for Tennis New Zealand to have someone who looks like he's going to get into the top 100 [in the world] after this tournament, I hope. It's been a while since we had that, it's really good.”

Southland Mayor Rob Scott said it had thrown not just Te Anau but the whole region into disarray.

“It's a great thing for our area and it shows that Southland is capable of achieving great things on the world stage. It's fantastic and it gives us something positive to celebrate,” he said.

Lulu Sun was scheduled to face Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva in the second round.

The time of the match has not yet been determined.

Kiwi qualifier Sun beats eighth seed in stunning Wimbledon debut

Wimbledon qualifiers set to end New Zealand singles tennis drought

Tennis: Lulu Sun's New Zealand debut 'great bonus'

Swiss tennis star Sun moves to New Zealand

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