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RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Wimbledon over for Lulu Sun with doubles exit
Lulu Sun has had an early exit from Wimbledon. Photo: PHOTOSPORT New Zealander Lulu Sun's Wimbledon has ended early, with her elimination from the doubles in the first round. Sun, who was beaten in the first round of the singles earlier this week, teamed with Leylah Fernandez in the doubles, but they were beaten 6-2 6-1 by sixth Asia Muhammad (US) and Demi Schuurs (Netherlands). Despite the decisive scoreline, the match took one hour and 13 minutes, with Sun and Canadian Fernandez attacking hard but failing to convert five break points. Sun was one of the big stories at last year's tournament , making the quarterfinals after starting as a qualifier, but this year's event has been a short-lived affair. She was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Marie Bouzkova in the first round of the singles on Tuesday. Sun was ranked 68th as a singles player at the start of the tournament but faces a rankings drop following her early exit. Sun said she and Fernandez had a difficult draw in the doubles. "Not really a first-round match-up you want to face,'' she told Tennis NZ. "But it was also not the best match from me and Leylah. We had a lot of opportunities in the first part of the first set, and then they started to be the aggressor, so they didn't give us a lot of chances when they came forward, and they were varying the different types of balls to make it hard to rally with them." Sun said despite her results this week she loved playing on grass again. "But unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of wins. I did get some good matches here and there, not as in wins, but against good opponents and I can potentially turn that and work on it for the end of the season to create something." Fellow New Zealander Erin Routliffe and regular partner Gaby Dabrowski, who won their first round doubles match against China's Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai 6-1 6-4 on Thursday, will play Polina Kudermetova (Russia) and Zeynep Sonmez (Turkey) in the second round. In the men's doubles, Michael Venus and Croatian Nikola Mektic advanced from the first round with a 6-4 7-6 victory over Briton Lui Maxted and Connor Thomson in a tight match that lasted one hour 25 minutes. The eighth seeds, Venus and Mektic will play Brazilians Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo in the second round.
NZ Herald
29-06-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
How Lulu Sun has changed New Zealand tennis, ahead of 2025 Wimbledon tilt
There hasn't been a New Zealand male at that level since Brett Steven in 1999, while Marina Erakovic was the only female to play Grand Slam singles this century, with her last main-draw appearance in 2017. Sun has also created a ripple effect. In April, New Zealand reached the playoffs round of the world group stage of the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time since 1993. That era included our finest female player, Belinda Cordwell (former world No 17 and Australian Open semifinalist), along with Julie Richardson, who reached a career high of No 100 in singles. Since then, it's been a grind. We haven't often been close to that level and sometimes it felt like the team would be stuck in regional obscurity forever. But not anymore, as they can look forward to a World Group tie in November in Poland, a three-nation tournament with the host country and Romania. The team deserve credit but Sun's contribution was massive. She was undefeated across the week in India – winning all four of her singles matches against India, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan – and the crucial doubles battles. Her presence not only inspired her teammates but also lifted their levels, shown by the impressive play of New Zealand No 2 Monique Barry, who managed some vital victories. Lulu Sun at the 2024 ASB Classic. Photo / Photosport Sun confirmed her switch of allegiance on March 15, 2024. She was already on the rise, climbing from outside the top 200 with her run through qualifying at the ASB Classic, then reaching the main draw in Melbourne. In April last year, Sun took out a WTA100 event in Florida, before the staggering Wimbledon run, where she beat hometown favourite Emma Raducanu on the way and captured the imagination both here and overseas. 'The media profile that [run] gave our sport was incredible,' said Paterson. 'We haven't seen that for a long, long time. It's something you almost can't measure.' Tennis NZ, thanks mostly to private backers, had invested significantly in Sun, as part of the support deal agreed to play under the New Zealand flag, but it has paid off in spades. In August 2024, she won the WTA 500 tournament in Monterrey and was later honoured as the WTA newcomer of the year. Sun also headlined the 2025 ASB Classic – bringing a much greater local focus to that event, in what was a huge build-up, even if her first-round exit was an anticlimax. This year has been tougher, though she beat former world No 4 Caroline Garcia in Dubai, then reached the third round at Indian Wells, considered the fifth major. She won matches in Madrid and Rome (her first main-draw successes on clay) before the eye-catching result at Eastbourne last week, beating world No 16 and top seed Daria Kasatkina, which put her back among the headlines. Lulu Sun celebrates winning a game against Daria Kasatkina during day one of the Eastbourne Open. Photo / Getty Images Alongside the doubles success of Michael Venus and Erin Routliffe, there is a buzz and visibility around the sport that hasn't present for years. That is expected to translate into more kids trying tennis – with anecdotal evidence that playing numbers have increased. 'It has had an effect across the board,' said Paterson of Sun's switch. 'The coverage, the media profile, the effect on the team – it lifts our younger players, gives them something to aspire to. Having someone operating at that level lifts everyone involved in the sport.' The next two months are pivotal for Sun. The 24-year-old has a ton of ranking points to defend at Wimbledon (470) and Monterrey (325), which comprise a major proportion of her current ranking (1201 points). However, she will also have the chance to make up ground in the final three months of the 2025 season, as she only took the court once last year after the US Open, due to injury problems. Sun was handed a tricky first-round draw at Wimbledon, against Czech world No 47 Marie Bouzkova. Though she avoided a seed, Bouzkova has decent pedigree at Wimbledon – reaching the quarter-finals in 2022 and the fourth round a year later – and more experience: she is about to feature in her eighth campaign in London compared to Sun's third. The winner of their match should face world No 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America's Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.
Scoop
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Scoop
Davis Cup Tennis Returns To Palmerston North This September
New Zealand's best mens tennis players will return to Palmerston North this September to take on Georgia in the Davis Cup. The World Group II clash taking place on 13-14 September, will mark the second time in a row Fly Palmy Arena will host the World Cup of Tennis, following a sellout weekend last year where New Zealand suffered a narrow defeat to Luxembourg. Despite the final result, the weekend delivered thrilling, high-quality tennis and a packed arena with an electric atmosphere, something Palmerston North Mayor Grant Smith hopes to see again. 'After the excitement of last year's event, we're proud to have the Davis Cup back this September. Palmy sports fans are the best in the country and I know they'll back the Kiwi team home against Georgia,' Smith said. The New Zealand team is yet to be announced, but Davis Cup captain Artem Sitak is expected to lead a squad full of exciting homegrown talent. Sitak, who made his non-playing captaincy debut in Palmerston North last year, brings years of international experience and a deep connection to the Davis Cup environment as a former player. 'We've got unfinished business in Palmy. Last year the atmosphere was incredible, and we were so close, but this year I know we'll give even more and get the right result for the Manawatū fans,' Sitak said. Tennis NZ CEO Julie Paterson says the return of Davis Cup tennis to Palmerston North is a sign of growing regional enthusiasm for the sport. 'Last year the local support was incredible. The energy from the crowd made it a special weekend for the team, and we're thrilled to be coming back to Palmerston North. Our team is determined to pick up the win this time around, ' Paterson said. The matchup with Georgia marks a fresh chapter in the Davis Cup history books, with the teams never having faced each other previously. Georgia has a strong squad of international players at their disposal. Nikoloz Basilashvili, currently ranked 128 in the world, has been as high as 16 before. However he has not played for the Georgian Davis Cup team since 2021. Other top Georgians include Saba Purtseladze (ranked 253) and Aleksandre Bakshi (ranked 554). The New Zealand squad will be named in August, and will be drawn from players competing across the ATP, the World Tennis Tour professional circuit, and US collegiate tennis. Day one features two singles matches, day two features the doubles match and reverse singles matches. Tickets are now on sale via
