NZ's Lulu Sun was forced to retire during her first-round match at the US Open. Photo: AFP
Injury has forced Lulu Sun to withdraw from her debut match at the US Open in New York after just one set.
Sun went into the match on the back of her first finals appearance, having finished runner-up at the Monterrey Open in Mexico at the weekend.
Her world ranking had risen to 41 after her quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon, but she took the court with her left ankle heavily strapped and appeared to struggle with a hip injury as her match against 76th-ranked Italian Lucia Bronzetti wore on.
The games went with serve until the seventh, when Bronzetti broke Sun's serve to go 4-3 up.
After that game, Sun called a time out for medical treatment and there was a further delay when rain halted proceedings for a quarter of an hour.
When play resumed, Bronzetti quickly went 5-3 up with Sun limping around the court at times.
Bronzetti won the next game to take the set 6-3, after which Sun informed the umpire she was retiring due to injury.
Sun said having just played the Monterry Open final, one day of recovery while travelling was simply not enough time between tournaments.
"I felt a pull in my glutes and I just couldn't move. So, I mean, it's kind of hard if you can't move on court. I had to retire, unfortunately."
Slightly stiff prior to the first serve, Sun said the injury was exacerbated during the game.
"I don't think I was moving all that well from the start, but it just kept getting worse and worse.
"It was close, and I was kind of most of the time getting control, which I thought like, going on, if I was physically good, I think I would have had the match. Because if you're in control of most of the points, I think you get the win."
Despite the setback, Sun was already setting her sights on a quick return to court.
"That's tennis. What can you say? Like one week you do well. Every week is a different surface, different weather.
"This week, my body wasn't keeping up and that's how it goes. But I have to move on, have to have to recover. And that's the priority."
- RNZ