Storm Hunter’s singles second chance begins with an all-Australian US Open test

For Storm Hunter, Tuesday’s meeting with Maddison Inglis is more than a first-round qualifier. It is another measure of how far her singles game has travelled since injury threatened to close that chapter.

A different kind of return Storm Hunter will walk onto the Flushing Meadows qualifying courts on Tuesday, August 25, carrying a singles ambition that once appeared to be moving into the past. Her opponent, Maddison Inglis, makes the opening round an unusually familiar test: two Australians, one place in the second round and no need for either player to decode the other’s tennis from a distance.

Hunter’s singles comeback has unfolded in the shadow of a much more decorated doubles career. She rose to world No.1 in doubles, won the 2022 US Open mixed doubles title and has remained a major presence on the doubles circuit. But the singles work has required a different patience, particularly after the Achilles injury she suffered in April 2024. The WTA’s player profile records that she played only a handful of tournaments in 2025 before rebuilding her schedule. (wtatennis.com)

That context gives this qualifying match its meaning. Hunter is not simply trying to add another Grand Slam appearance to her résumé. She is testing whether singles can again become a meaningful part of her professional identity.

The evidence is in the opportunities There are already signs that the experiment has substance. Tennis Australia reported in August that Hunter qualified for the Australian Open and Indian Wells in 2026, while also making her United Cup singles debut — opportunities she had not expected to come again. (tennis.com.au)

Her 2026 singles results have not formed a straight line. The WTA record lists a run to the fourth round at Indian Wells qualifying? No — importantly, the available official record shows Hunter winning her opening match at Indian Wells before losing to Belinda Bencic, reaching the second round in Istanbul, and contesting events including Memphis, Oeiras and the Australian Open. (wtatennis.com)

That mixture of progress and resistance is precisely what makes qualifying valuable. It gives Hunter repeated matches in which the result matters, rather than treating singles as an occasional add-on around her doubles commitments. Each one asks whether her left-handed baseline game, built around the forehand and a preference for hard courts, can withstand the pressure and physical demands of a Grand Slam pathway. (wtatennis.com)

A first-round match with a larger horizon The US Open qualifying tournament runs from Monday, August 24 to Thursday, August 27, with three victories required to reach the main draw. The women’s qualifying field contains 128 players and offers 16 main-draw places. (usopen.org)

Inglis is not an uncomplicated draw. Tennis Australia placed her among the Australian women entering qualifying after a strong week at the Vancouver WTA 125, alongside Emerson Jones and Taylah Preston. The Australian Open’s official player page lists Inglis at world No.132 on August 21, with a career-high ranking of No.112. (tennis.com.au)

For Hunter, though, the important comparison is not only with the player across the net. It is with the version of herself who once reached No.114 in singles, then saw injury and limited competition interrupt the climb. The WTA lists her 2026 year-end singles ranking at No.174 and her current profile ranking at No.180, figures that show both the ground still to recover and the progress already made. (wtatennis.com)

An Australian derby can feel cruel in a Grand Slam draw because one home player’s campaign must end immediately. For Hunter, the emotional stakes are more personal. A win would not complete the comeback, and a loss would not erase it. But it would offer another answer to the question she has been asking through 2026: whether singles still has a future worth pursuing.

On Tuesday, the answer begins with Inglis — and with Hunter’s willingness to keep starting again.

Sources Storm Hunter | Player Stats & More – WTA Official US Open: 12 Aussies set for qualifying, Vukic into main draw Nishikori, Dimitrov, Zheng, Andreescu learn paths in 2026 US Open qualifying draws | Official Site of the 2026 US Open Tennis Championships - A USTA Event Storm Hunter Stats | Player Stats & More – WTA Official US Open 2026 qualifying draw and tournament information US Open 2026 schedule Tennis Australia: Australians set for US Open qualifying WTA: Storm Hunter player profile WTA: Storm Hunter statistics and rankings Australian Open official player page: Maddison Inglis