Lulu Sun Bio
Lulu Sun (Chinese: 孙璐璐; pinyin: Sūn Lùlù, née Lulu Radovcic; born 14 April 2001) is a New Zealand professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 39, reached on 9 September 2024, and a best doubles ranking of No. 190, achieved on 24 February 2025. Sun is the current No. 1 New Zealand women’s singles player and has represented her country at the Billie Jean King Cup and the Olympic Games.
Standing 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in), Sun plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand and turned professional in 2022. She has won one WTA 125 singles title and seven ITF singles titles, along with four ITF doubles titles. In December 2024, she was recognized as the WTA Newcomer of the Year following a breakthrough season on the main tour.
Early Life and Background
Sun was born Lulu Radovčić in Te Anau, a small town in the South Island of New Zealand, to a Chinese mother and a Croatian father. She briefly lived in Shanghai as a young child before her family relocated. From the age of five, she was raised in Geneva, Switzerland, where she completed her school education while still traveling back to New Zealand to spend time with family.
Sun is multilingual, speaking English, French, and Mandarin Chinese fluently, and has expressed interest in learning Korean and Japanese. She has an older sister, Phenomena Sun (born 1998), who competed in professional tennis tournaments until 2016. Her multicultural upbringing across New Zealand, China, and Switzerland shaped her early identity as a globally mobile athlete.
Sun attended the University of Texas at Austin in the United States, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and global studies in 2022, completing her coursework in just three years. During her time with the Texas Longhorns, she balanced her studies with a highly successful college tennis career that laid the foundation for her professional transition.
Path to Professional Tennis
Sun first picked up a racket as a child in Geneva, training in a region known for producing well-rounded European players. At the start of her junior career, she represented Croatia from 2011 to 2013 under her birth name, Lucija Radovčić, competing at events such as the 2013 Girls G12 European Nations Challenge. She later switched her federation to Switzerland before eventually choosing to represent New Zealand, her country of birth.
As a junior, Sun reached the girls’ doubles final at the 2018 Australian Open, finishing runner-up alongside Violet Apisah while playing for Switzerland. That same year, she represented New Zealand at junior Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round of singles and the first round of doubles. She later changed her surname to Sun, adopting her mother’s maiden name.
Before turning professional, Sun played one season of college tennis for the Texas Longhorns in 2020–21. She posted a 15–1 record on court three in singles and a 6–1 mark on court two, then clinched the championship point for Texas in the 2021 NCAA final against Pepperdine, winning 4–3. Partnering Kylie Collins at the top of the doubles lineup, she went 22–4 in dual matches and reached the NCAA doubles final, where the pair fell to North Carolina’s Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty.
Lulu Sun Career
Early Career (2022–2023)
Sun made her professional debut in 2022, the same year she completed her degree at the University of Texas. In May 2022, she won her first major ITF title at the Open Saint-Gaudens in doubles, partnering Fernanda Contreras. Two days later, she received a wildcard into the singles draw at the Morocco Open, her first WTA Tour main-draw appearance, where she lost in the first round to seventh seed Arantxa Rus.
Through the remainder of 2022 and 2023, Sun continued building her game on the ITF Circuit, winning multiple lower-level titles in both singles and doubles. Her steady progress and ranking gains set the stage for her breakthrough on the WTA Tour the following year, when she transitioned to competing primarily at the highest levels of the women’s game.
WTA Tour Breakthrough (2024)
Sun announced herself on the WTA Tour in 2024 with a series of career-firsts. She made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open after qualifying but was eliminated in the first round by Elisabetta Cocciaretto. At her first WTA 1000 event, the Dubai Championships, she earned her first win at that level as a wildcard when Paula Badosa retired, before falling to ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko in the second round. In April 2024, she played under the New Zealand flag for the first time at the Billie Jean King Cup.
In May, Sun captured both the singles and doubles titles at the W100 Bonita Springs Championship in Florida, cracking the top 125 for the first time on 17 June 2024. Her defining moment came at Wimbledon, where she qualified for the main draw and upset eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round, recording her first top-10 victory and first completed win over a top-100 player. She followed it with wins over Yulia Starodubtseva and Zhu Lin to become the first New Zealand woman to reach the Wimbledon fourth round in the Open Era, matching Dame Ruia Morrison’s 1957 and 1959 runs.
Sun then defeated Emma Raducanu to become the first New Zealand woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in the Open Era, and only the second New Zealand woman to reach a major quarterfinal overall, after Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open. Her run ended in the quarterfinals against Donna Vekić in three sets. Later that summer, she reached her first WTA Tour final at the WTA 500 Monterrey Open, defeating Chloé Paquet, María Lourdes Carlé, Erika Andreeva, and third seed Ekaterina Alexandrova before losing in straight sets to Linda Nosková, which lifted her to world No. 41 and then into the top 40.
She also represented New Zealand at the 2024 Paris Olympics in singles and doubles. After the US Open, where she retired in the first round due to a hip injury, Sun ended her 2024 season early and was named WTA Newcomer of the Year in December.
2025 Season
Sun opened 2025 with first-round losses in four consecutive tournaments before securing her first win of the year at the Abu Dhabi Open, defeating Caroline Garcia. At Indian Wells, she recorded wins over Rebecca Šramková and 31st seed Linda Nosková to reach the third round, where she was stopped by eighth seed Zheng Qinwen. Partnering Leylah Fernandez, she finished runner-up in doubles at the WTA 125 Catalonia Open in May.
On the clay swing, Sun fell in the first round of the French Open to Victoria Mboko and lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Marie Bouzková. During the North American hardcourt swing, she defeated Sorana Cîrstea at the Canadian Open and qualifier Antonia Ružić at the Cincinnati Open, then notched her first major match win since the 2024 Wimbledon Championships by beating Camila Osorio at the US Open before losing to 19th seed Elise Mertens in the second round.
In September, Sun captured her first WTA 125 singles title at the Jingshan Open, defeating Ma Yexin in the final. She then qualified for the Guangzhou Open in October and reached her second WTA Tour singles final, beating top seed Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro, Wang Yafan, Caty McNally, and qualifier Claire Liu before losing in straight sets to second seed Ann Li. The strong finish lifted her 28 places to No. 88 in the world on 27 October 2025.
Driving Style and Strengths
Sun is a left-handed player who uses a two-handed backhand, a combination that gives her natural angles and variety on both wings. Her college and ITF background emphasized consistency and tactical awareness, allowing her to construct points carefully and handle the pressure of long matches. Her comfort across hard, clay, and grass courts reflects the well-rounded development she received in Switzerland and at the University of Texas.
Notable Events and Milestones
Her 2024 Wimbledon run stands as the signature achievement of her career, highlighted by her first top-10 win over Zheng Qinwen, a fourth-round appearance that matched a New Zealand Open Era record, and a quarterfinal victory over Emma Raducanu. She also became the first New Zealand woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in the Open Era and finished the year as WTA Newcomer of the Year.
Lulu Sun Career Wins
Sun has compiled an impressive collection of titles across the ITF Circuit, the WTA 125 series, and the WTA Tour. Her professional résumé includes seven ITF singles titles, four ITF doubles titles, and one WTA 125 singles title, complemented by two WTA Tour singles finals. She has also reached one WTA 125 doubles final and posted a 271–171 career singles record, with prize money exceeding US$2 million.
WTA Tour Highlights
Sun has reached two WTA Tour singles finals, finishing runner-up at the 2024 Monterrey Open and the 2025 Guangzhou Open. Her run to the Monterrey final included a win over third seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, while her Guangzhou run featured a victory over top seed Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro and a semifinal win over Caty McNally. Both finals ended in straight-sets losses, to Linda Nosková and Ann Li, respectively.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond her WTA results, Sun captured her first WTA 125 title at the 2025 Jingshan Open, defeating Ma Yexin in the final. She has also won multiple ITF titles, including the W100 Bonita Springs Championship in 2024, and reached the WTA 125 doubles final in Catalonia in 2025 alongside Leylah Fernandez. Her NCAA singles championship with the Texas Longhorns in 2021 remains a defining amateur achievement.
Lulu Sun Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Sun was born to a Chinese mother and a Croatian father, which is reflected in her multilingual upbringing and multicultural identity. She later adopted her mother’s maiden name, Sun, as her professional surname, embracing her Chinese heritage as she rose through the international ranks. Her older sister, Phenomena Sun, also played professional tennis until 2016, giving the family a clear tennis lineage.
Personal Life
Sun resides in Geneva, Switzerland, the city where she was raised from the age of five and where she completed her school education. She is known to be fluent in English, French, and Mandarin Chinese. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022 with a degree in international relations and global studies, completing her studies in just three years.
2025 Season Performance
Sun’s 2025 season was defined by persistence through a slow start and a strong finishing stretch. After losing in the first round of her opening four events, she found her footing at the Abu Dhabi Open and produced encouraging results at the WTA 1000 level, including a third-round showing at Indian Wells. Her qualifying run to the US Open second round and her first WTA 125 title at the Jingshan Open in September marked a clear return to form.
The Guangzhou Open in October was the highlight of her year, as she qualified and stormed into her second WTA Tour singles final, beating the top seed along the way. Although she finished runner-up to Ann Li, the result moved her up 28 places to No. 88 in the world on 27 October 2025, placing her firmly back inside the top 100 and reigniting her momentum heading into the off-season.
Looking ahead, Sun will look to build on the late-2025 surge and target deeper runs at Grand Slams, where her best result remains the 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinal. With her ranking back inside the top 100, a stable coaching setup, and experience across all surfaces, she enters the new season focused on reclaiming a top-40 spot and pushing for her first WTA Tour title.
