Storm Hunter and Marc Polmans might have been on the wrong end of Thursday’s Wimbledon mixed doubles final, but they will take plenty of positives from their Centre Court experience.
One set away from becoming the first all-Australian duo to win the title since John Fitzgerald and Liz Smylie in 1991, Hunter and Polmans were outplayed by Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Arevalo in the final two sets.
The No.2 seeds claimed a 4-6 7-5 6-2 victory, both securing their first Grand Slam mixed doubles crown.
Despite their defeat, the opportunity to play a Grand Slam final on Centre Court at the All-England Club was meaningful for Hunter and Polmans.
“I honestly can’t wipe the smile off my face. It’s always tough to lose a match but to play on Centre Court here at Wimbledon, to be in the final with Marc here, a great friend, was amazing,” Hunter told Stan Sport.
“Honestly loved every minute out there, we had an epic match. We had a little opportunity there but credit to our opponents, they kind of took it away from us and really took the momentum midway through that second set and rolled with it but loved every minute out there.”
For Hunter, the mixed doubles runners-up trophy concludes a successful return to the All-England Club. Her first Wimbledon campaign since 2023, the 31-year-old is grateful that she could have made her grasscourt major return alongside a close friend.
“It means absolutely everything,” she said. “It’s been three years since I’ve played here and missing last year after my Achilles [rupture], I had to pull out last minute with a stress fracture in my rib, that was really heartbreaking but to come back and rewrite my story a little bit and to play with Marc … makes it even more special.
“But we want more, we want to come back next year and we’re going to bring it as well.”
Thrusday’s final was Polmans’ first match on Wimbledon’s Centre Court, continuing a career-best season for the Victorian. After reaching the Australian Open 2026 men’s doubles final with Jason Kubler, Polmans has become Australia’s highest-ranked men’s doubles player at world No.36.
> READ: Kubler and Polmans reach AO men's doubles final
Playing on All England Club’s premier court was an experience that Polmans will never forget.
“For me it was my first time [playing on Centre Court] so it was awesome,” he said.
“Obviously, not the result we wanted. We had a few chances but overall a great week. It’s the first time we’ve played in a long time so to be in the final at the end of the week, pretty happy with how things went.”
After previously reaching the AO 2021 mixed semifinals and rekindling their partnership for Wimbledon, Hunter and Polmans have hinted at playing together at next month’s US Open.
“We’ll be requesting a wildcard, don’t worry about that!” Hunter smiled.
You can watch Wimbledon on the channels of the Nine Network and Stan Sport.