The WTA end of year awards were announced overnight, and Lulu Sun was deservedly named Newcomer of the Year. Their citation reads:
Newcomer of the Year Lulu Sun proved to be the breakout star of 2024, having been ranked outside the Top 200 in January before soaring to No.40 by the year’s end. She kicked off her incredible campaign by making her Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open before enjoying more success at the majors with her first Top 10 win over No.8 Zheng Qinwen as part of a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon as a qualifier (making history as the first New Zealand woman to reach that stage in the Open Era). Sun rounded out her season by reaching her first Tour final in Monterrey at the WTA 500 Abierto GNP Seguros and peaked in the PIF WTA Rankings at No.39.
What it doesn’t say is that she got injured at the US Open, and played only one more match in the rest of the year. I don’t think it is stretching anything to say that, if she had remained injury-free, we would have seen even more improvement in those last two or three months of the season. I’m really looking forward to her 2025 efforts, starting with the ASB Classic at Stanley Street in just three weeks.
Meanwhile, Erin Routliffe and Gaby Dabrowski have finished amongst the also-rans in the fight to be named the top doubles team. That title has gone to the Italian pair of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, whose year was highlighted by their Olympic Gold Medal and victory in the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Malaga. In what must have been a very close decision, they have been ranked above all the year’s Grand Slam winners, as well as the pair who beat them on court on the way to winning the WTA Tour Finals title.