Storm Hunter Blows Momentum into Australian Women's Challenge at French Open
Key Highlights :
Storm Hunter has provided a welcome boost to the Australian women’s challenge at the French Open with a successful qualifying campaign on the last afternoon of qualifying. Kim Birrell had been the only Australian woman in the main draw, until Hunter secured her spot with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 win over US teen Ashlyn Krueger. Hunter’s experience saw her hold tough in the late stages of both sets against the 19-year-old, and she now faces a winnable opening-round contest with Spain’s world No 93 Nuria Parrizas Diaz.
The experienced and combative Hunter, who competed in Paris as Storm Sanders in 2021 but has since got married, is the first Australian woman to earn qualification twice at Roland Garros since Michelle Jaggard-Lai in 1994. Successful French Open qualifying campaigns are rare for Australian women, with only Rachel McQuillan in 1996, Sophie Ferguson in 2010 and Olivia Rogowska in 2015 also achieving the feat.
With Hunter’s successful campaign, Australia now has six men and two women at the French Open, which kicks off on Sunday. Alex de Minaur is the highest-ranked Australian at No 18, and he will face Ilya Ivashka of Belarus in the first round. Max Purcell will take on Jordan Thompson, Jason Kubler faces Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina, Alexei Popyrin will take on Aslan Karatsev of Russia, Chris O’Connell plays Taro Daniel of Japan, and Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on No 20 seed Dan Evans of Great Britain.
Kim Birrell’s first-round opponent is Leolia Jeanjean of France, while Storm Hunter will face Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain. Australian hopes for a successful French Open campaign are high, with Hunter’s successful qualifying campaign providing a welcome boost.
