The balance between singles and doubles on the professional tennis tour, is enduring. Especially for elite players aiming to excel in both, it is more challenging. Australia’s Storm Hunter’s experiences over the last 36 hours is a testament of this difficulty.
The 29-year-old Aussie, ranked No. 3 in doubles but No. 122 in singles, had to hustle coast-to-coast. Even under the best of circumstances, from championship weekend at the BNP Paribas Open to a first-round qualifying match (and win) in Miami a day later. But as documented by her compatriot Daria Saville, the left-hander conquered adversity at every turn.
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Storm Hunter’s Turbulent Journey to Miami Open Qualifiers
Hunter’s journey began on Saturday afternoon. Following her finish with Katerina Siniakova as runners-up to Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens in Indian Wells, she raced to the airport for a 3 p.m. flight to Dallas, for an ensuing connection to Miami.
However because of a delay Storm Hunter, her husband Loughlin Hunter and coach Nicole Pratt, missed the flight. They slept for five hours in Dallas eventually before getting re-booked on a 7 a.m. flight to Miami.
The group had to wait 40 minutes for their luggage, after an 11 a.m. arrival in Miami, per her doubles partner Daria Saville. The wait for their luggage led to Hunter asking Saville whether she had a “spare pair of shorts” through WhatsApp as a back-up plan.
“If you forgot anything, I got stuff here,” Saville said. “I always forget stuff, so I overpack.”
“[A] bit going on in the past 36 hours,” Hunter wrote later as she reposted Saville’s stories to her own Instagram. “Dash always has my back.”
Hunter eventually arrived to Hard Rock Stadium 45 minutes prior to her 2 p.m. warm-up with Saville, a few hours before a she took the court. Hunter faced off against Alizé Cornet—a match she eventually won 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-4 in two hours and 37 minutes. She found herself trailing 4-2 in both the first and third sets.
Will Hunter’s hard work pay off with a place in the Miami Open main draw? She is set to face German Jule Niemeier in the final qualifying round on Monday afternoon.