Now a great Cinderella story at Wimbledon, Texas ex Lulu Sun has her mom to thank for helping her make history in college. And also Texas tennis coach Howard Joffe for sure.

It’s a sure bet Sun will improve upon her current No. 123 world ranking after she won three qualifier matches to enter the Wimbledon women's singles main draw, then has followed up with four straight victories, including a huge 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over British favorite Emma Raducanu in a Round of 16 match Sunday on the famed Centre Court.

The lefty’s game is well-suited for grass courts because she takes the ball early and is unafraid to go for shots, taking the net if need be. She was clearly the heavier hitter against Raducanu, an oft-injured player who won the 2021 U.S. Open as a qualifier. Sun overcame a brief battle with nerves to close out the biggest win over her young career.

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Sun, who clinched Texas’ 2021 NCAA championship win over Pepperdine, earned $480,000 in her first appearance on the sport’s biggest stage and earned her first Final Eight appearance in a grand slam, also the first for a former Longhorns women's player. If she beats Donna Vekic in the quarterfinals Tuesday, her payout goes up to $916,000, which nearly triples her career earnings of $313,000.

This professional journey could have been much different had she not returned a text message.

The New Zealand-born Sun ventured to the Lone Star State as a high school junior and didn’t like what she saw.

“I actually played a tournament at Texas Tech and I was like, ‘Oh my God, there is nothing here,’” she told reporters after Sunday's match.

Some time after, Sun received a text message from Texas tennis coach Howard Joffe. Her mom insisted she write back and schedule a visit to campus since her daughter was coming off an injury and turning pro immediately had become less likely.

That visit changed everything.

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“I was so in awe with Austin the city,” Sun said. “I loved it so much and thought the school was so big and they had everything. Howard was so nice and supportive. I guess it was luck or good timing, but I’m really happy that I chose Texas.”

Now 23, she is one of two Texas alums rising up the ranks. Her UT teammate Peyton Stearns had a memorable fourth-round run at the 2023 U.S. Open. Stearns lost in the first round of singles and the second round of doubles at Wimbledon.

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It’s been some story for Sun, who was born in Te Anau, a small town in the South Island of New Zealand which is known to have more sheep and deer than people. Her family moved to Switzerland when she was five and later to Shanghai, China. She grew up watching Roger Federer’s Wimbledon matches on television and YouTube replays of epic battles between Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, who combined for 16 Wimbledon singles titles.

These days, the 2022 Texas grad splits time living in Florida and Slovakia.

Quinn Ewers, Kelvin Banks will be joined at the hip

The key for Texas: Keep Quinn Ewers clean. Those are the most important four words in every Texas offensive meeting this season and for good reason.

The Horns, now officially a member of the SEC minefield, are talking CFP repeat and it all starts with their two All-America candidates. Texas is expected to bring its star quarterback as well as hulking left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. to SEC media days next week. Their health and leadership will be paramount in how this team fares even if there's a potential star waiting in the wings if Ewers does get dinged.

He’s in good hands. Banks played more than 900 snaps last season and allowed only two sacks.

"Knock on wood, he'll be a top-five NFL draft pick next season,” coach Steve Sarkisian told the media at the Houston Touchdown Club earlier this summer.

No question.

In most cases, teams want to showcase their All-America candidates and their best talkers in the preseason gathering of players, coaches and media. With Ewers fresh off a breakout season and an offseason spent working with some new wideouts while also honing his skills as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy — backup Arch Manning was also there in a family reunion of sorts — Sarkisian must be believing this will be the year where it all comes together for his quarterback.

None of us can dispute that Ewers and Banks are the two most important players in Texas' debut SEC season, particularly the 6-foot-6, 340-pound junior who will be charged with protecting his quarterback’s blind side.

Before Banks notched a spot on Phil Steele’s All-America second team, it had been six years  since a Texas tackle, Connor Williams, had received such an honor. Williams is also the last UT tackle drafted in the first round.

It’s been a minute, but the wait won’t be much longer if Banks continues his ascent.

Rori Harmon can’t wait to get back

Harmon is 'looking good': Texas guards Rori Harmon and Shay Holle shot a segment during last week’s SEC Celebration where they gave ESPN cameras a tour of the basketball locker room and training facility before returning to the practice court.

Harmon, who underwent surgery on a torn ACL in January, knocked down a 3-pointer to end the segment. She wasn’t wearing a knee brace, which is encouraging for a team expected to make some noise in its first SEC season, albeit in the same conference with South Carolina and LSU, teams that combined to win the last three national championships.

Coach Vic Schaefer told me that he’s pleased with where Harmon is in her recovery.

“It’s only been six months,” Schaefer said. “I don’t really care about shooting right now. We just want Rori to get back to moving around and being that explosive player she is used to being. She’s looking good.”

A healthy Harmon paired with freshman All-American Madison Booker will make the Horns a real problem, especially with how well Booker got acclimated to running the point 12 games into the season.

“It isn’t talked about as much, but she didn’t get tired last season and that’s phenomenal for a freshman after what she was asked to do,” Schaefer said.  “That’s a real credit to our assistant coaches and training staff.”

Schaefer knows he must play the long game with Harmon, who would probably play 40 minutes tomorrow if turned loose. He will have plenty of time from the early November opener until the conference opener in January to bring her along.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How a text message changed Wimbledon star Lulu Sun's life at Texas