Lulu Sun crowned champion in Jingshan, China

Lulu Sun capped a brilliant week in China by winning the WTA 125 tournament in Jingshan, China, beating local favourite Ma Ye-Xin 6-4 6-2 in Sunday’s final.

This is the biggest title the 24-year-old Sun has won in her career, surpassing her previous best, the WTA 100 event in Bonita Springs, Florida, in May 2024.

At that tournament last year, the highest ranked player she defeated was Ann Li at 165 in the world, while on Saturday in Jingshan, she beat Alexandra Eala in the semifinals, who’s at 58.

Her week in Jingshan was another sign that the New Zealand No 1 is getting back to her best form and winning this title will lift her up from 146 in the world rankings to around 125.

As well as the 125 ranking points Sun gets from winning this tournament, she also picks up US$22,730 (NZ$39,373) in prize money.

Ma, who was the outsider in the final, was broken to love in the opening game, but then settled into the match and fended off multiple break points when serving at 2-4.

Ma then broke in the next game, cheered on by the large, partisan crowd.

But Sun showed resilience to get a break in the following game and then held serve to secure the opening set.

Sun broke again at the beginning of the second set and then again two games later as part of a march towards a 4-0 lead.

Ma went on to win a couple of games, but on Sun’s first championship point she steered a forehand down the line that her opponent had no chance of getting to.

Sun let out a loud scream after winning that point and then sat in her chair beaming with joy as she waited for the trophy presentation to begin.

But there will be little time to celebrate this title.

As Sun was in the final in Jingshan, she wasn’t able to play in the qualifying draw for next week’s tournament in Suzhou, China and her ranking wasn’t high enough to make it into the main draw.

So the WTA’s special exempt rule has come into play and she has been given a spot directly into the main draw.

However, the draw is a tricky one, as she’ll play against top seed Iva Jovic from the United States in the first round.

Like Sun, the 17-year-old Jovic has confirmed she’ll play at the ASB Classic in January.