Lulu Sun & Erin Routliffe Both Nominated for WTA Player Awards

For the first time, New Zealand has two players nominated for WTA Player Awards in the same year.

Lulu Sun is nominated for “Newcomer of the Year,” while Erin Routliffe, along with her doubles partner Gaby Dabrowski, are in contention for “Doubles Team of the Year.”

The WTA highlighted the following reasons for nominating Lulu Sun: she started the season ranked No. 214 but broke into the Top 40 by September, made a Wimbledon quarterfinal on her debut, reached the final of the WTA 500 Monterrey, and secured her first top-10 win over No. 8 Zheng Qinwen at Wimbledon.

For Routliffe, the WTA cited her exceptional season, including winning the WTA Finals title in Riyadh, making four runner-up finishes (Wimbledon, Miami, Toronto, and Eastbourne), reaching four semifinals (Australian Open, Dubai, Osaka, and Tokyo), and advancing to two quarterfinals (US Open and Wuhan). Routliffe began the year ranked No. 10 and, following Wimbledon, became the first female player from New Zealand to hold the World No. 1 position on the PIF WTA Rankings, which she held for seven weeks. She ended the season as World No. 2.

Notably, Routliffe’s first WTA 1000 title in Cincinnati was not a factor considered, as she won it with Asia Muhammad instead of Gaby Dabrowski.

Lulu Sun faces strong competition in the “Newcomer of the Year” category, with fellow nominees Erika Andreeva, Rebecca Sramkova, Zeynep Sonmez, and Sonay Kartal. Based on statistics, Lulu has a solid chance of winning. While Kartal claimed a WTA 250 title and made the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier, Lulu’s quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon, coupled with her top-10 victory, arguably carries more weight.

Meanwhile, Routliffe and Dabrowski are up against formidable opponents for “Doubles Team of the Year,” including Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens, and Anna Danilina and Irina Khromacheva.

As with their season on the court, Siniakova and Townsend remain Routliffe and Dabrowski’s toughest competition. Siniakova, who finishes the year as World No. 1, partnered with Townsend to win Wimbledon, defeating Routliffe and Dabrowski in the final. Olympic gold medalists Errani and Paolini are also strong contenders, with titles in Rome, Linz, and Beijing bolstering their case.

No New Zealand woman has ever won a WTA award, so Routliffe and/or Sun could make history once again this year.

The winners will be announced on December 9, with international tennis media deciding the results.

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