Lulu Sun made history on Sunday by becoming the first New Zealand woman to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Sun, ranked 123 in the world, achieved this milestone by defeating 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. The 23-year-old left-hander showcased her prowess with 52 winners against Raducanu.

Sun attributed her impressive grass-court skills to learning from tennis legends. "Just watching the professionals growing up," she said, mentioning Roger Federer and the YouTube matches of Steffi Graf versus Martina Navratilova. "It was just so amazing to watch them... I was taking it all on from the pros and trying to do that for my game."

Next, Sun will face Croatia's Donna Vekic as she aims to become the second New Zealand woman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, following Belinda Cordwell at the 1989 Australian Open. Before Wimbledon, Sun had not won a grass-court match this year. Her victory on Sunday ensures she will be a top 60 player and guarantees at least $375,000 in prize money.

Sun's background is diverse; she has a Chinese mother and Croatian father, and she has lived in Te Anau, New Zealand, Shanghai, and Switzerland. She recently switched her national allegiance from Switzerland to New Zealand. "It wasn't an easy decision... I'm still grateful for everything that Swiss tennis has done in my junior career," Sun explained. She also expressed gratitude to Tennis New Zealand for their support.

Donna Vekic, Sun's upcoming opponent, is also in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time but has reached the last-eight at the 2019 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open. Vekic, ranked 37th, acknowledged Sun's remarkable journey, saying, "She's had an amazing run from quallies. Obviously she's playing great tennis. I don't know a lot about her but no one makes the quarter-finals of Wimbledon by accident."