How a stint at a prestigious Melbourne school helped Storm Hunter out of the tennis wilderness (2024)

With Storm Hunter’s tennis career looking almost as unhealthy as her bank account, she began coaching tennis at Melbourne’s Wesley College.

It was 2018, she was 24, with a sore shoulder that no one could diagnose well enough to fix, and her time in professional tennis had not produced the financial windfalls a select few on the tour enjoy.

Six years on, her perseverance has taken her to the top of world rankings in women’s doubles, with $US2.7 million ($4 million) in career earnings, seven WTA doubles titles and the 2022 US Open mixed doubles title with John Peers.

At Melbourne Park, she is through to the women’s doubles semi-finals with Katerina Siniakova, taking another step towards a home grand slam.

On Wednesday, Hunter and Siniakova came through a testing three-setter against Czech Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to move to within two wins of the title.

Their win over Krejcikova and Siegemund was significant for Hunter’s new playing partner Czech Siniakova, who used to form a formidable combination with countryman Krejcikova.

After reaching the No.1 doubles ranking, a grand slam title in her home tournament would continue Hunter’s rise, which has been both hard fought and, of late, rapid.

Even in her hard times, the support of her family and her long-term boyfriend, now husband, Loughlin, sustained Hunter.

In her mind was the harsh reality that she may not return to the professional tennis circuit.

The CEO of Xsoar Perform and head of tennis at Wesley, Lauren Breadmore, employed Hunter to coach students in their program a few times a week as she attempted to rehabilitate her troublesome shoulder.

The work was not glamorous.

“It was all ad hoc coaching hours, and she was back to the real world like everyone else,” Breadmore said.

That part of it didn’t faze Hunter. She was used to the real world, having started life with her family in Rockhampton’s Grand Hotel, her first tennis coach Rob Beak remembering her massive smile as much as her aggressive left-handed forehand.

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As she hit her teenage years, her father, Michael, and then her mother, Genene, joined the Navy and the family headed across the country to Western Australia.

Her parents’ no-fuss approach and work ethic made an impression on their daughter, who watched the sacrifices they made to keep her dream of being a professional tennis player alive.

“I spent a lot of times in my childhood not seeing my parents because they were sacrificing their time with me and my brother to give us that support,” Hunter said after her first-round singles win.

“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.’ ”

As Hunter regrouped on the Wesley tennis courts, Breadmore – who set up the successful partnership between Wesley College and Xsoar Perform to enable players who might want to become professional or play on the US College circuit combine tennis and education – noticed Hunter’s itch to play on the pro tour remained.

“I felt like she was not done yet. Just buying some time until she found the right time,” Breadmore said.

When her injury healed, she decided to have one last crack at being a full-time professional. And it turned out the right time was just ahead.

This year she has become a household name, making the third round in the women’s singles at the Australian Open while also progressing in the women’s doubles.

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“No one deserves to do better than Storm. She is the most lovely person and was such a reliable coach to have,” Breadmore said.

Hunter’s friend and former professional Jess Moore is also riding the Storm wave. She is full of admiration for how Hunter responded when injury was threatening to derail her career.

“Injury sucks because there is so much unknown, and it wasn’t a very easy time for her as she had no set time for when she could come back,” Moore said.

“But she invested in doing a coaching course at Tennis Australia, coaching at Wesley and spent a bit of time coding matches at the Australian Open.

“Through that she actually learned a lot about how players play and how they go about it. She knew she couldn’t get on court, so she set aside time to invest and upskill. It was a credit to her, and she was able to have a different perspective on how she was going to approach it when she got back.”

She added a psychology degree from Canberra soon after, and her new approach has her planning to reset her sights on her singles career once this tournament is over.

“She is not satisfied. She is going to keep pushing. I find that inspiring,” Moore said.

That push does not come easily to Hunter as her instinct is to be one of us, not one of them.

“I just feel like I’m such a normal person to be in this environment as a professional athlete. To be No.1 doubles player in the world and play on that stage, it almost feels like it’s not for me in a way,” Hunter admitted after being eliminated from the singles in the third round, coincidentally by ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova, who she turned the tables on in Wednesday’s doubles match.

But don’t expect Hunter to back off from a challenge. She is motivated by the belief her husband, family and coach Nicole Pratt have shown in her and the perspective they have provided.

“Whatever she does, she is doing with purpose ... even with her recent success, she has remained so grounded, and that is not easy to do. It’s a different world,” Moore said. “She hasn’t changed at all.”

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That’s why so many people who know Storm Hunter (or Storm Sanders as she was before being married), or were coached by her at Wesley, will be barracking hard for her.

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