BJK Cup: Solar shines for New Zealand in win over India

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Pune: By the point Lulu Solar was in center faculty, she was grappling with an id disaster. Born in New Zealand to a Chinese language mom and Croatian father, she attended faculty in Switzerland. If the inner torment wasn’t sufficient, she was continuously taunted for being the one individual of Asian descent in her faculty.

Lulu Solar registered a straight-sets win over Sahaja Yamalapalli within the within the Asia/Oceania Group 1 stage on the Billie Jean King Cup (MSLTA)

“Growing up, I sort of had this question about where do I belong,” she mentioned, on the sidelines of the Billie Jean King Cup Open in Pune. “When I was a teenager and trying to find myself and see where I belong in society, me and my sister were the only Asian kids in school. We had experiences of facing racism. It was really tough.”

It was at that stage that she began to immerse herself extra in tennis. She had questions on her background, and tennis gave her an id. And on the primary day of the premier ladies’s tennis crew occasion right here, Solar made her presence felt.

On Tuesday, New Zealand started their marketing campaign within the Asia/Oceania Group 1 stage in opposition to India. And along with her crew trailing 1-0 after Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty beat Aishi Das, Solar, the highest-ranked participant on the match at world No.45, introduced them degree with a straight-sets win over Sahaja Yamalapalli. A short time later, she paired up with Monique Barry to beat Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare within the doubles to safe the tie.

Apparently, she solely began representing New Zealand on the senior degree final yr, having performed for Switzerland earlier than that.

“It was a really tough decision to make because they’re both a part of me,” she mentioned. “But I saw that there was an opportunity to grow the sport in New Zealand.”

Her starting within the sport, she recalled, was extra as a result of her elder sister wished to play. “I just got put into it with her,” she mentioned.

The early years had been “terrible”. However she appreciated the routine of ending faculty after which spending time on court docket. She completed runner-up within the 2018 Australian Open junior ladies doubles occasion earlier than tennis took her to the USA for faculty – she led the College of Texas to the NCAA title in 2021.

However within the skilled circuit, she prompted a stir when she reached the Wimbledon quarter-final final yr, that too after being given a qualifying wildcard.

“I really wanted to get to the main draw because the qualifiers are (at a different venue),” she mentioned. “I was just so happy to qualify and play the top players. (Beating Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen) gave me that feeling that I’m not too bad at tennis.”

The tennis court docket didn’t ask who she was, it simply gave her a consolation zone.

“It’s just you and your opponent. All you have to do is hit within the lines and over the net,” she added. She managed to try this and much more on Tuesday.