Lulul Sun scored an upset over the top seed at the Guangzhou WTA event in China PHOTO: WTA
New Zealand tennis professional Lulu Sun has come through qualifying to stun the top seed at the Guangzhou WTA 250 tournament in China.
Twenty-four-year-old Sun defeated world No 40 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro from Spain, 7-6(3) 7-6(2) to make the second round and continue her good form of late
Sun has claimed a title, made the second round and semifinals in the past three weeks at WTA 125 tournaments as she bids to improve her ranking into direct entry for January’s Australian Open.
It was a tight contet against Bouzas Maneiro with the New Zealander down a break in the first set as the Spaniard served at 5-4.
However, Sun broke back at the crucial moment and eventually took the set into a tiebreak, which she won comfortably.
There was a break of serve for both players in the second set, before once again Sun raised her level in the tiebreak.
By winning this match, Sun has picked up another 30 ranking points, which would lift her up 10 places to around 105 in the world rankings.
The 2025 Australian Open had an entry cut off list of 101 .
In the second round in Guangzhou, Sun will play against Wang Yafan from China a former top 50 player who has a current ranking of 331 in the world and was given a wildcard to make it into the main draw.