PLAYER PROFILE

Storm Hunter

9
AUSTRALIAN
RANKING
174
WTA
RANKING
  • Age30
  • Born11 August 1994
  • Birth PlaceRockhampton, Queensland
  • LivesMelbourne, Victoria
  • Height166 cm
  • PlaysLeft-handed
  • CoachNicole Pratt
FOLLOW
“When I've got the all-clear to run and cover more court, we don't need to be doing five kilometres, which is different to, say, Alex de Minaur – he would have to cover a lot more court and be moving a lot more.”

— Storm Hunter, 12 Dec 2024

» How our data analytics trailblazers are fending off the competition

On court

  • idol growing up was Andre Agassi: “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.”
  • also likes Rafael Nadal: “I’m a lefty too so I love to watch him play and he is so mentally tough so I aspire to be like him.”
  • realised at age 15 or 16 that she was good enough to follow a professional career
  • named in the Australian Fed Cup team for the first time in January 2014
  • singles finalist in the 2011 Optus 18s Australian Championships, going down to Ashleigh Barty; teamed up with Brooke Rischbieth to make the doubles semifinals
  • pushed world No.3 Daria Gavrilova to three tough sets in her first Australian Open junior championships in 2010; from this, realised her potential to become a professional tennis player
  • aspires to be like former Australian pro and world No.8 Alicia Molik; believes if she works hard she has every chance to reach such heights
  • toughest opponent she’s faced is Belgian Kirsten Flipkens
  • wishes she could replay her Hobart International second-round match against Flipkens, where she fell in a third-set tiebreak
  • dream tennis scenario would be to beat the world No.1 in a night match at Rod Laver Arena
  • ultimate professional goal is to win a Grand Slam – especially the Australian Open – and to win a Fed Cup
  • sitting in her entourage at an Australian Open match at Rod Laver Arena would be her family, her team, and hopefully Billy Slater or Sally Fitzgibbons
  • qualified at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career at Roland Garros 2021
  • advanced to Wimbledon ladies’ doubles semifinals in 2021 with American Caroline Dolehide, where they lost to Russians Elena Vesnina and Veronika Kudermetova after holding three match points
  • represented Australia at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, reaching doubles quarterfinals alongside Ash Barty
  • made top-20 debut in doubles in January 2022
  • broke into the world’s top-10 in doubles in October 2022, after winning first WTA 1000 title alongside Brazil’s Luisa Stefani at Guadalajara
  • made the Wimbledon ladies’ doubles final alongside Belgium’s Elise Mertens in 2023
  • rose to world No.2 in doubles in September 2023, making her the highest-ranked Australian female in 16 years
  • became the third Australian woman to achieve a No.1 ranking in doubles in November 2023
  • made the third round in singles at Australian Open 2024 as a qualifier. She was the first Aussie qualifier to progress that far in 39 years
  • missed most of the 2024 season after rupturing Achilles during a training session at a Billie Jean King Cup tie in Brisbane in April

Off court

  • if she wasn’t a tennis player she would be a high school teacher
  • fan of the Fremantle Dockers in the AFL and Melbourne Storm in the NRL
  • loves to surf
  • nicknamed “Storminator”
  • best piece of advice received is to control what you can control
  • her perfect day would involve going on a surfing round trip down south to Margaret River with family and friends
  • had she not been a tennis player, she would have been a professional surfer or school teacher
  • married partner Loughlin Hunter in November 2022

Year-end singles ranking history

2023 172
2022 237
2021 129
2020 282
2019 428
2018
2017 676
2016 293
2015 371
2014 323
2013 242
2012 721
2011 725

 

Storm Hunter in the news

Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup team announced for Brisbane
Maya Joint will make her debut for Australia in Brisbane's Billie Jean King Cup tie in April. (Getty Images)
14 March, 2025

Maya Joint, Ajla Tomljanovic, Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter will join Kimberly Birrell to represent Australia at Pat Rafter Arena on 10-12 April 2025.
Read more
Top-ranked Birrell embodying camaraderie among Aussie women
January 9:  Kimberly Birrell (AUS) celebrates her win in the final qualifying round match at the Australian Open with a hug from Nicole Pratt  on Court 3 at Melbourne Park on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Photo by TENNIS AUSTRALIA/ JOSH CHADWICK
6 March, 2025

The foundations of Kimberly Birrell’s rise to national women’s No.1 have been built on the strength of her bonds with her Australian contemporaries and idols.
Read more
How our data analytics trailblazers are fending off the competition
Storm Hunter celebrates her second-round win over Laura Siegemund at Australian Open 2024. [Getty Images]
12 December, 2024

Tennis Australia’s data and analytics team was a world leader – until the rest of the world started to catch up. Here’s how the team maintains their edge in an…
Read more
Thompson’s chance to achieve 45-year first at Wimbledon 2024
Jordan Thompson in action at Wimbledon 2024. Picture: Getty Images
13 July, 2024

Jordan Thompson is aiming to become the seventh different Australian to win a Grand Slam men's doubles title in the past three years.
Read more
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