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‘Couldn’t Earn Any Money’- 29YO Australian WTA Star Who Relied on Husband’s Support Revisits a Harrowing Period

Published 12/09/2023, 11:49 PM EST

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Australia’s tennis champ, Storm Hunter revealed her financial struggles after suffering massive injuries five years ago. Hunter who gained popularity for being the first ever Australian woman in twenty years to remain the world’s number one in doubles, expressed how her off-court situations left her financially struggling like hell. Now for tennis players, attending tournaments matter as that help the players financially and ensure their ATP ranking to get more sponsors. However, Hunter’s revelations tell about the struggles of professional athletes.

After getting devastated by multiple injuries and forced off-court moments, Hunter’s presence at this year’s WTA semi-finals helped her regain the world’s number-one position in doubles again. However, this Australian tennis star didn’t forget her dark days in this moment of success.

Storm Hunter revealed her financial struggles during the off-court moments due to multiple injuries

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This Australian tennis star who proudly shows off her three WTA 1000 titles revealed that she struggled to sustain as injuries took away her tournament and she was moneyless. In Hunter’s words-“My rankings were 100-200, singles and doubles, and I was out for a full year. I couldn’t play, I couldn’t earn any money through playing tennis, I got a job working as a coach and I was studying as well because I really didn’t think I was going to come back to play professional tennis, so I started thinking about the future and obviously you need an income as well to survive.” 

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Hunter mentioned how she felt pressured to decide whether to return to the court after getting better and healthy. She said-“When I started feeling better and got healthy again, I still had to make the decision whether I wanted to play. I had less than $1000 in my bank account. I was living in Melbourne with my boyfriend at the time – now husband – and he was supporting us, basically. He had his full-time job. said to him I literally have $1000 for a flight to Europe and if it doesn’t go well, I’m just going to have to somehow find the money to get home and then the dream’s over.

How did Storm Hunter return to her tennis throne after all these years?

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Hunter’s gamble with $1000 truly worked right for her as the tennis star earned more than $1.6 million money during 2023. Not only that but she ended her 2023 season as the world’s number-one in women’s doubles. After five years of gap, it was surely an epic moment for Australia’s Storm Hunter. Her presence at the semi-finals of the WTA tournament 2023 at Cancun returned the world’s number-one position to her.

Read more: Days After Husband’s Heart-Breaking Withdrawal, Elina Svitolina Provides Much-Needed Clarity on Gael Monfils’ Physical State

She exclaimed in happiness saying- “I get a little bit emotional when I start to think about it just because of my journey, I just feel like I’m a regular Australian girl who grew up in WA in a small town, and I just honestly couldn’t believe that it had happened.”

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Storm Hunter’s marvelous comeback mesmerized fans with a lot of hope for this tennis star to shine bright in the future. Following Hunter’s intense dedication, fans expect her to remain the world’s number-one in doubles for more years.

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Written by:

Upasana Banerjee

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I began my journey as a tennis writer at EssentiallySports after 6.5 years in content creation, including both sports and non-sports topics, gaining wide-ranging expertise. To date, I have contributed more than 600 articles, in both tennis and esports.
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Edited by:

Ananya Giri