Was Lulu Sun born in New Zealand? All you need to know about the Wimbledon star's unique heritage
Lulu Sun became the first player from New Zealand to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals after she beat Emma Raducanu in a fourth round battle. While neither of her parents are from New Zealand, she was born in the country.
Raducanu’s multi-cultural heritage is well known, but not many would know that her conqueror comes from a similarly diverse background.
Sun was born on April 14, 2001, in South Island, New Zealand, to a Chinese mother and a Croatian father. The family, however, soon moved to Switzerland when she was just five, and that’s where the youngster spent her formative years.
The 23-year-old Sun’s mother wanted her to attend college, and she thus moved to the United States for her education. There, she attended the University of Texas and carved a niche in varsity tennis.
Sun represented both Switzerland and New Zealand as a junior, but chose to participate under the former’s flag early on the senior circuit. Following the 2024 Auckland Open, however, she chose to switch to New Zealand after experiencing overwhelming support from the fans.
Lulu Sun's deep bond with New Zealand
Lulu Sun's first tournament under the New Zealand flag came at the Billie Jean King Cup. She had shared an emotional post in the lead-up to the team competition on her social media, outlining her connection with her birth country and its many natural wonders.
“After deep reflection, it is with great pride that I announce my commitment to represent New Zealand, my birth country, on the international stage at the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup,” Lulu Sun wrote. “This decision is a truly pivotal moment in my career and a heartfelt tribute to my origin.”
“Throughout the years, my deep bond with New Zealand has remained, and many of my favourite memories have involved spending time amidst the natural wonders of New Zealand with my extended family,” she continued. “New Zealand has always been a place for me to return to, where I recover, recharge and renew my inspiration and motivation to succeed.”
Sun now divides her time between her two training bases, Florida and Slovakia. She works with coach Vladimir Platenik at the latter location. For the 23-year-old, who played her first WTA main draw match at Rabat last year, her cultural heritage is of immense value.
“I think I'm lucky to have all these backgrounds behind me,” Lulu Sun said after her Wimbledon exploits. “From an early age I got to see the world and get to know it through my family.”
“When you have so many cultures behind you, you don't really 100% fit into one. Sometimes when I was growing up, it was really hard to fit into one specific culture. But now I've grabbed different parts of different cultures and they somehow became me. I'm not fighting it, I'm not trying to be a specific culture,” the youngster added.
The last player born in New Zealand to make it to the second week of Wimbledon was Maori tennis legend Ruia Morrison, who reached the fourth round in 1957 and 1959. She was at the time the first Maori, the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand, to have played at the grasscourt Slam. Needless to say, Sun’s latest accomplishments have put her in fine company.