Storm Hunter Makes Grand Slam History Against Kostyuk

Storm Hunter has stared down far worse than a first-round date with Marta Kostyuk.

A ruptured Achilles. A year out of the game. A career that has zigzagged between doubles glory and singles doubt. That kind of journey hardens a player in ways rankings never show.

So when the US Open draw handed the 32-year-old Australian a meeting with the big-hitting French Open and Wimbledon semifinalist, there was no trace of fear. Just a sense that, finally, she belongs here.

A rare slice of grand slam history

Hunter has already made this New York trip unforgettable. By fighting through qualifying, she has forced tennis historians to dig deep – and they came back with a nugget that underlines just how unusual her path has been.

She is the first active Australian player to qualify for the main draw at all four grand slams. Very few players from any nation can say the same.

It has not been a gentle stroll through Flushing Meadows either. Hunter opened qualifying by knocking out compatriot and close friend Maddison Inglis. Her second match pushed her to the brink; she had to fend off two match points to stay alive. The final step was stretched over two days, a 24-hour weather delay slicing into her momentum before she returned to clinch a third straight sudden-death victory.

Every round asked a question. Each time, she found an answer.

“This is the last slam on my list to tick off to get through qualies and coming in I hadn't played many singles matches in the last few months so, yeah, it feels amazing,” Hunter said, the significance of the achievement written across her words as much as the record books.

Back where she wondered if she’d ever be

Flushing Meadows has not seen Hunter in the singles main draw since 2023. Between then and now came that brutal Achilles rupture and more than a year away, the sort of injury that can quietly end a career in a training room, far from any spotlight.

Yet here she is again, under the lights of New York, with a ranking built largely on doubles excellence but a hunger that still burns for singles tests like the one awaiting her on day one.

Her “reward” is brutal on paper: the 11th seed, Kostyuk, a player riding the best season of her career after surging to the semifinals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Heavy ball, relentless intensity, a competitor who does not give an inch.

“Yeah, it's tough,” Hunter admitted, the honesty underpinned by a competitor’s steel rather than resignation. “She's obviously having a really good year. She's a great player, very physical with the way she plays and a really good competitor.”

The challenge is immediate. Qualifying finished, and the turnaround is sharp.

“Obviously a very quick turnaround from playing qualifiers to my first round tomorrow, but I'm feeling good and she's the one who's under all the pressure to play against me and I have practised with her before.

“I know what her level is and I know it's going to be a challenge, but I'm up for a challenge. It's going to be fun. I'm going to enjoy it.”

That is not bravado. For someone who has wondered if she would ever again play at this level, simply walking into the main draw carries its own weight.

“There's been lots of times in my career I didn't think I'd be back playing at this level, so to be back in the main draw of a slam is awesome, and I'm just going to go out and enjoy it and give it a good crack.”

The pressure, as she points out, sits squarely on the seeded star across the net.

Australian charge begins in New York

Hunter is one of six Australians launching their campaigns on Monday in New York, each with their own storyline but none with a route quite as winding as hers.

• Kim Birrell faces Petra Marcinko, while Talia Gibson also takes on Croatian opposition in seasoned campaigner Donna Vekic.
• Rising talent Taylah Preston meets American Alycia Parks in a clash that should test her nerve as much as her game.
• On the men’s side, Adam Walton opens against China’s Yibing Wu, and Aleksandar Vukic faces Japan’s Rei Sakamoto, the only Australian men in first-round action on day one.
• Sixth seed Alex de Minaur, the standard-bearer of Australian singles tennis right now, begins his tilt at a deep run on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), carrying the expectations that Hunter is happy to leave to others.

She has something different in mind.

Her US Open has already delivered a piece of history. Now comes Kostyuk, a hard-hitting barometer of where Hunter’s singles game truly sits after all the scars, all the rehab, all the doubts.

For a 32-year-old late bloomer who has just qualified for all four majors, the question is no longer whether she belongs.

It is how far this run, and this resurgence, can really go.