Former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun has captured the first WTA 125 title of her career, defeating home hope Ma Ye-Xin 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the inaugural HuBei Bank Jingshan Tennis Open.
Sun, 24, rose to prominence in 2024 after reaching the last eight of Wimbledon as a qualifier, defeating Zheng Qinwen and Emma Raducanu en route. She backed that up by reaching her first Hologic WTA Tour final in Monterrey, and was named Newcomer of the Year in December.
However, a wrist injury ended the New Zealander’s 2024 season in September, and on returning to action this year she struggled for form. Sun lost eight of her first nine matches of 2025, and has compiled just a 10-21 tour-level record so far. However, with her ranking down at No. 146, she shone again to start the bounce-back in Jingshan.
No. 3 seed Sun opened her campaign with an authoritative 6-3, 6-2 first-round win over 17-year-old former junior No. 2 Tyra Caterina Grant, and upset No. 1 seed Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals. In the final, she fired eight aces, dropped just four points behind her first serve and wrapped up victory in just 70 minutes.
China’s Ma upset No. 4 seed Jodie Burrage 6-4, 6-3 in the first round. The No. 234-ranked 26-year-old then pulled off a remarkable comeback from 5-1 down in the decider to defeat No. 2 seed Talia Gibson 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the semifinals and advance to her first career WTA 125 final.
The doubles final pitted two Hong Kong-Chinese Taipei duos against each other. No. 2 seeds Eudice Chong and Liang En-Shuo got the better of Lee Ya-Hsin and Cody Wong Hong-Yi 7-6(4) 6-2 to collect their second title together this month. Chong and Liang were also the champions in Changsha three weeks ago, as well as lifting the Corroios-Seixal ITF W50 trophy in July. Both Lee and Wong were contesting their first WTA 125 finals.