Lulu Sun has retired hurt from her opening match at the US Open in New York.

Going up against world number 76 Lucia Bronzetti, Sun first took an injury break during the first set with an apparent hip injury and was unable to continue for the second set.

The Kiwi, in her US Open debut, looked far from comfortable throughout the opening set and her frustration was apparent after the injury break seemed not to alleviate her injury.

The point which sealed the first set for the Italian Bronzetti saw Sun spin awkwardly in the back court and wince with pain needing to pause by the wall.

In match that had to move courts due to Christopher Eubanks’ contest with Arthur Rinderknech lasting a monstrous three hours and 49 minutes, Sun struggled to do anything more than hold her serve and eventually Bronzetti assumed control.

The match was further delayed by rain, with play stopping completely for ten minutes and leaf blowers being employed in a bid to dry the court.

As play resumed after following serve until the eighth game, Bronzetti broke Sun and then holding the ninth game to take the set 6-3 after Sun had three break point opportunities.

The 23-year-old Sun climbed over 200 places in the world rankings over the past 12 months to a career-high 53, the highest singles ranking for a New Zealand player since Marina Erakovic more than a decade ago.

After her remarkable run that saw her reach the quarter-final of Wimbledon, Sun has been rewarded for her meteoric rise in the world rankings as the first feature player named for the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland in January.