She had never won a Grand Slam match until this Wimbledon
When Sun arrived to south-west London two weeks ago, she was ranked 123 in the world, had only contested just one Grand Slam main draw (at the 2024 Australian Open), and had never won a main draw match at a major.
On the grass courts of Roehampton, where Wimbledon qualifying rounds are played, she won three matches to secure her place at the All England Club for the first time, and was drawn against No.8 seed Zheng Qinwen in the first round.
She defeated the 2024 Australian Open finalist in three sets, to record the first top-100, top-50, and top-10, win of her career before marching her way to the quarter-finals.
“It’s definitely a special win, playing here at Wimbledon and getting my first top-100 win,” Sun said on court after upsetting Zheng. “The qualies are definitely gruelling, each match, it definitely helped with the fighting spirit.”