How Storm Hunter overcame injury, nearly being broke to being the world’s best doubles player

Perth’s Storm Hunter may have the best name in Australian sport, but up until a few years ago it was little known. The 29-year-old tennis star — who had already cemented herself as the best doubles player in the world on the back of a career-best season — is making her deepest grand slam singles run at the Australian Open. Having stormed into the third round, Hunter will tonight take on No.9 seed Barbora Krejcikova on Rod Laver Arena in the final match of the day. But it’s a far cry from 2018 when injuries not only threatened to end her career, but almost sent her broke. A serious shoulder injury compounded by ankle, back and hamstring complaints not only left her tennis future at a crossroads, but left her with only $1000 in the bank. Her now-husband Loughlin shouldered the financial burden as Hunter worked a variety of jobs while trying to get her body right. This included working as a coach at Melbourne private school Wesley College before she turned a corner when she was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis — an autoimmune condition — and after being treated her injuries began to dissipate. The left-hander grew up idolising four-time Australian Open champion Andre Agassi, saying: “I first started (to play tennis) because he was one of the first tennis matches I ever watched and after watching him I wanted to be a pro tennis player.” She has gone on to base her game around 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal as well as former world No.8 Alicia Molik, having first realised she had the talent to become a professional when she was a teenager. A Fremantle Dockers fan and keen surfer, Hunter grew up in Rockingham where she began playing on the local courts and going to school at Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, before getting a gig with the National Academy Team at the State Tennis Centre in Burswood. From there she moved to Melbourne where she has lived since, making her first Australian side in the 2014 Fed Cup. Fast forward to 2023 and Hunter won $1.1m in prize money and ended the year as the world’s best in doubles — the first Australian woman since Sam Stosur in 2006. Despite this, Hunter was forced to earn entry into the main singles draw for the Australian Open through qualifying — a tough task to start with. Wins over former world No.15 Kaia Kanepi, Celine Naef and Dominika Salkova proved Hunter was good enough to be in the starting 128, but that’s as far as she’d ever been before. Then on Monday came the most remarkable of wins, a 6-4 6-3 victory over former French Open finalist Sara Errani. The emotion spilled over for Hunter and in her press conference she spoke in depth about how her family went from Rockhampton in central Queensland to landing in Perth where she built the foundations to become a tennis star. “It’s crazy coming from Rocky. Then my parents joined the military when I was six years old to help support my career,” Hunter said. “I grew up in a pub (The Grand Hotel) in Rockhampton. My parents had no money. They were hard workers. They knew I had this dream and they joined the military to try and give us a better life. “We relocated to WA. I spent a lot of time in my childhood not seeing my parents because they were sacrificing their time with me and my brother to give us that support. “I feel like I owe it to them as well because they sacrificed a lot for me and my brother. They’ve always been so supportive of my career and I think believed in me more than I ever believed in myself, especially my Dad. He was always saying ‘you can do it, you can do it’. “I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I can do it, to be honest’.” Hunter’s win not only earned her a second round match, but a feature spot on John Cain Arena against fellow doubles specialist Laura Siegemund of Germany. In front of her parents, husband and coach Hunter again defied the odds — with Siegemund ranked a massive 102 spots higher than her — to win a three-set encounter to launch herself into the final 32. “Yeah, it was really nice to see, yeah, my husband, my parents, Pratty (coach Nicole Pratt) and Fish (Ron Fisher). These are people that have been in my life for obviously a long time,” Hunter said. “My parents have been there from day one and have always supported my dreams and goals no matter what. So to have them here is super, super special. “Then my husband, we have been together almost 10 years now, which is, yeah, a very long time. We met when I was 19 and just starting out, becoming a professional tennis player. “He’s seen it all from when I was injured, working here in Melbourne as a coach at Wesley College earning no money, no ranking. So for him, he’s always also been super supportive, always pushed me and challenged me to be better as well. “I just feel really lucky, because these are the people that have always believed in me no matter what. They have been here from the beginning.” Hunter will now prepare for the enormous task of taking on former French Open champion Krejcikova. “It’s going to be a tough match. She’s obviously a grand slam champion in singles and doubles and a great player,” Hunter said. Hunter is not sacrificing her doubles success to ensure she is firing in the singles. She will take to the court in the second round of the women’s doubles alongside new partner Katerina Siniakova against fellow Australians Maddison Inglis and Destanee Aiava. This is on the back of playing alongside fellow West Australian Matt Ebden in the mixed doubles against Mate Pavic and Lyudmyla Kichenok on Friday morning.