In Wimbledon 2024, players are breaking records like never before. Lulu Sun, the rising WTA star from New Zealand, seized the opportunity to shine and made history. The claim that Roger Federer‘s influence can improve any tennis player’s performance on grass seems credible when looking at Sun’s journey.

In 2017, the tennis community witnessed a legendary moment when Roger Federer won his eighth Wimbledon title, defeating Marin Cilic in straight sets (6-3, 6-1, 6-4). This victory marked his 19th Grand Slam title and made him the oldest men’s champion at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

Among the many spectators, Lulu Sun had her fangirl moment just days before Federer’s historic win. She shared a picture on Instagram, beaming alongside the Swiss tennis maestro. The social media platform marks this image as “posted 363 weeks ago” dating back to the days when Federer went for glory.

Fast forward to Wimbledon 2024, Lulu Sun has been unstoppable in her grass-court campaign. She became the first New Zealand player to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon in the Open Era, starting with a massive win over No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen, marking her first Top 10 victory.

Reflecting on her unexpected rise, the WTA star from New Zealand said, “I wasn’t expecting to be here at this stage, but I’ve just been playing match-by-match. But yeah, here I am.” Now that she is scheduled to play Emma Raducanu in the fourth round on Sunday, it would surely be a big test for her.

Lulu Sun sees the upcoming challenge as an opportunity

While Lulu Sun is still striving to secure a position in the top 100, her upcoming match rival is a grand slam champion. This showdown against Raducanu will be nothing less than a significant challenge for her. However, Sun ranked 123rd in the world, caused one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by defeating Chinese eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round.
She is the first woman from New Zealand to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon in the Open era. So, instead of being nervous, the 23-year-old is looking at her upcoming match in a very interesting way.

“She’s obviously been far in the Grand Slams before and she’s, I’m pretty sure, Wimbledon’s favorite since she’s from here,” said Sun about her fourth-round rival, who walked in as a wild card. Despite acknowledging the challenges, Sun was excited to play on Centre Court.

“Playing on Centre and playing against her is an opportunity that I would be happy to play,” the WTA star added, letting her happiness spill out. It is hard to predict who among these two rivals will secure a position in the quarter-finals. Regardless of the favorite pick, the fans are just waiting to witness the intensity.