Congratulations to Lulu Sun, who, yesterday, 7 July 2024, became the first New Zealand woman to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Sun, born in Te Anau, Southland, defeated the British former US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
In her post-match interview, she shed tears of joy, describing her Centre Court victory as an ‘amazing experience’. Sun, ranked No. 123 in the world and who only entered the main draw through qualifying, will play Croatia’s Donna Vekić in the Quarterfinal on Tuesday. We wish her the best of luck in her next match as she vies to be the first Kiwi to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Chris Lewis in 1983.
In other UK-NZ sporting news, the All Blacks narrowly defeated England 16-15 in Dunedin in the opening match of a three-test series, and in men’s football England reached the semifinals of the European Championships in Germany.