Lulu Sun

Lulu Sun (formerly known as Lulu Radovcic; born 14 April 2001) is a New Zealand Swiss tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of world No. 123, achieved on 24 June 2024, and a best doubles ranking of No. 219, reached on 6 May 2024.

Lulu Sun
Country (sports) Switzerland (– Apr 2024)
 New Zealand (Apr 2024 –)[1][2]
ResidenceGeneva, Switzerland
Born (2001-04-14) 14 April 2001
Te Anau, New Zealand
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro2022
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
CollegeTexas
CoachVladimir Platenik[3]
Prize moneyUS$ 280,515
Singles
Career record220–121 (64.5%)
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 123 (24 June 2024)
Current rankingNo. 123 (24 June 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2024)
French OpenQ2 (2024)
WimbledonQ3 (2022, 2024)
Doubles
Career record66–47 (58.4%)
Career titles4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 219 (6 May 2024)
Current rankingNo. 220 (24 June 2024)
Last updated on: 25 June 2024.

Career

Juniors

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.[4]

2022: Professional and WTA debuts

Before turning pro in 2022, Sun played college tennis at the University of Texas at Austin.[5] In 2021, she competed in the NCAA DI women’s tennis championship for UT Austin, clinching the match and winning the third ever NCAA championship.

In May 2022, she won her first big ITF title at the Saint-Gaudens Open, partnering Fernanda Contreras in doubles.[6] She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Morocco Open just two days later, where she received a wildcard into the singles draw.[7]

2024: Major, Masters debuts and first win, top 125

Sun made her Major debut at the 2024 Australian Open after qualifying.[8][9] On her WTA 1000 debut, she recorded her first win at that 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, Sun played under the New Zealand flag for the first time as part of the team for the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup.[10][1]

In May, Sun won the singles and doubles titles at the W100 Bonita Springs tournament in Florida.[11] She reached the top 125 on 17 June 2024.

Personal life

Sun was born in New Zealand, then moved to Florida with her family at the age of five. She then moved to Switzerland where she completed her school education. She attended college in the United States at the University of Texas in Austin, graduating in 2022 with a BA in Political Science.

She has an older sister Phenomena Radovcic (born in 1998) who played in professional tournaments until 2016.[12]

Grand Slam performance timelines
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles
Tournament 2022 2023 2024 SR W–L Win%
Australian Open A A 1R 0 / 0 0–1 0%
French Open A A Q2 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

Singles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runners-up)
Legend
W100 tournaments (1–0)
W80 tournaments (1–0)
W60 tournaments (0–1)
W40/50 tournaments (1–0)
W25 tournaments (1–2)
W15 tournaments (3–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (6–4)
Clay (1–1)
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 Aberto da República, Brazil W80 Hard Léolia Jeanjean 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 5–5 Oct 2023 Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States W60 Hard Yuliia Starodubtseva 5–7, 3–6
Win 6–5 Feb 2024 ITF Roehampton, United Kingdom W50 Hard (i) Heather Watson 7–5, 7–5
Win 7–5 May 2024 Bonita Springs Championship, United States W100 Clay Maya Joint 6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 10 (4 titles, 6 runners–up)
Legend
W100 tournaments (1–0)
W60/75 tournaments (2–1)
W40/50 tournaments (1–0)
W25 tournaments (0–3)
W15 tournaments (0–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–5)
Clay (2–1)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jan 2019 Playford International, 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 Open Saint-Gaudens, France W60 Clay Fernanda Contreras Gómez Valentini Grammatikopoulou
Anastasia Tikhonova		 7–5, 6–2
Win 2–4 Feb 2023 Georgia's Rome Open, 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 Trnava Indoor, 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]
Win 4–6 May 2024 Bonita Springs Championship, United States W100 Clay Fanny Stollár Valentini Grammatikopoulou
Valeriya Strakhova		 6–4, 7–6(3)

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
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
  1. "ASB Classic star Lulu Sun confirms switch from Switzerland to New Zealand". 14 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. "Lulu Sun's announcement on her Instagram".
  3. "Lulu Sun on her switch to New Zealand, Te Anau memories, Olympic dreams and French Open hopes". 17 May 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  4. "Teen tennis prospect Lulu Sun sends signal on sticking with New Zealand". www.stuff.co.nz. 8 July 2018.
  5. "Lulu Sun - Women's Tennis". University of Texas Athletics.
  6. "Lulu Sun | Player Stats & More – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association.
  7. "Welcome to the tour: All of 2022's WTA debutantes". WTA Tennis. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  8. "Aussie Open 2024's Slam debuts: Korneeva, Seidel, Starodubtseva and more".
  9. "What next for Lulu Sun and Tennis New Zealand?".
  10. "The inside story of Lulu Sun's switch to New Zealand".
  11. "Sun shines in Florida with biggest title yet at W100 Bonita Springs". 7 May 2024.
  12. "Phenomena Radovcic Overview". Women's Tennis Association - Official Website.
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