{"id":429038,"date":"2026-01-22T02:45:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T02:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429038\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T02:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T02:45:19","slug":"tennis-player-storm-hunters-secret-sauce-is-kept-close-to-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429038\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis player Storm Hunter\u2019s secret sauce is kept close to home"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 22, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t long ago that Storm Hunter was staring down the barrel of a long rehabilitation process, after she ruptured her Achilles tendon during a Brisbane training session in early 2024.<\/p>\n

But this week she was back at the Australian Open, notching a first round win over Spain\u2019s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro<\/a>, only to be knocked out of the tournament by American Hailey Baptiste on Wednesday afternoon. Still, the Australian\u2019s comeback has been one of this year\u2019s early Open highlights.<\/p>\n

\"StormStorm Hunter thanks the crowd after her round one win at the Australian Open.Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

After sealing her place in the second round, the 31-year-old opened up about some of the things that helped her through those tougher months. Among them: her book club \u2013 and her husband\u2019s culinary finesse.<\/p>\n

Her husband, Loughlin Hunter, (a professional chef, no less) left his job to travel with Storm, and has been on the tools throughout her road to recovery. Her secret sauce? \u201cI\u2019ve been requesting a chicken pesto pasta. So pretty, you know, basic \u2013 but he does a good job,\u201d the player said in a post-match interview with our Age colleague Sam McClure.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I did my Achilles, he started travelling with me. We just found life on tour\u2019s a lot \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t get home that often, and he\u2019d be working here in Melbourne. And we were kind of lucky that we \u2026 were in a position where he could quit his job and start travelling with me, which, for the first year, was great.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then I did my Achilles. We were obviously here [at] home rehabbing. He had to drive me everywhere; I couldn\u2019t drive for about four months. So he was there every step of the way, just helping me stay positive and cooking really nice meals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linen crotch whiskers and leather pants<\/p>\n

For years, the anonymous style critic Fashion Critical has delivered scathing reviews of fashion events to a cult online following.<\/p>\n

She coined trademark phrases such as \u201cshoulda caught the bus\u201d, for when a celebrity\u2019s clothing was creased from sitting down in a limousine to an event, and \u201ctoessssss\u201d, for when awkward toes protruded from designer shoes.<\/p>\n

Newly minted as the Australian Open\u2019s first fashion editor at large, Fashion Critical has been prowling the tournament perusing the outfits.<\/p>\n

Fashion has taken to centre court at the Open with Naomi Osaka\u2019s jellyfish-inspired ensemble<\/a>, but while Fashion Critical is prepared to weigh in on the players, she\u2019s playing it nice when it comes to tennis fans. She dubbed Osaka\u2019s outfit \u201ccompletely unhinged\u201d, but she loved it.<\/p>\n

\"FashionFashion Critical at the AO Set in Style dinner.Penny Stephens<\/p>\n

Attending Tennis Australia\u2019s exclusive \u201cO\u201d enclosure, Fashion Critical had only praise for attendees\u2019 attire including Kerri-Anne Kennerley\u2018s \u201cbrilliant\u201d Camilla pants set in printed blues and Ariarne Titmus\u2019 \u201cfab\u201d Sir mini-dress.<\/p>\n

The only negative response we could eke out of Fashion Critical was an arched eyebrow over swimming singer Cody Simpson\u2019s decision to wear leather trousers to the tennis on a 29-degree day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that was a choice,\u201d she said. \u201cThat was a choice both culturally, because we just don\u2019t see a lot of leather pants at the tennis, and also weather-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could it be possible that being on the payroll of the tournament has softened Fashion Critical\u2019s approach?<\/p>\n

\"CodyCody Simpson performs in leather pants at the Open.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my rules has always been that I will only, when I do a red carpet album, that I only feature celebrities, and these are the people that have stylists and have style teams behind them, and all of the effort that goes into putting that look together,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t do it with regular people because I just don\u2019t think that it\u2019s the same playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fashion Critical said that even though most tennis fans would have come on public transport, the \u201ccrotch whiskers\u201d that are often the result of not heeding her advice on \u201cshoulda caught the bus\u201d were unavoidable given the amount of sitting down at the Open and the popularity of linen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s breathable, it\u2019s light, but nothing on the planet creases more than linen,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I would say that in this particular instance, the crotch whiskers violation will not be issued unless you are attending an event with a media wall, in which case you must place the item on your person as close as possible to the time of the photo op.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Photo: Matt Golding<\/p>\n

Now that Fashion Critical has attained her own celebrity status she has found the tables have turned, and she is the subject of media photographers looking closely for a \u201cshoulda caught the bus\u201d or \u201ctoesssss\u201d moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe level of scrutiny that I face in the toe region is intense,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie, I did rearrange my toes for a photo the other day, just to make sure that no one can come at me, because they\u2019re going to be looking and rightly so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not even critics are perfect.<\/p>\n

Daicos and Dalins get to work<\/p>\n

In the early stages of this year\u2019s Australian Open, the Melebrities sauntering from one sponsored event to the next are already beginning to blur into one.<\/p>\n

Before the nation\u2019s powerbrokers and politicians begin to trickle in to catch the latter stages of the tournament, we\u2019re left to thumb through galleries of local Instagram influencers and footballers enjoying the spoils of all the Open\u2019s corporate hospitality has to offer.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Daicos pictured last month getting in the mood for tennis.<\/p>\n

Last year, comedian Joel Creasey emerged among the tournament\u2019s most familiar faces, due in no small part to his hosting duties at Squealing Pig\u2019s wine bar. But this year one couple is making an early run at dethroning him.<\/p>\n

Enter Collingwood\u2019s Josh Daicos, and his fiancee, Annalise Dalins. As readers of this column would already be aware, the pair were spotted lining up for vaunted on-court seats on Sunday (along with Josh\u2019s brother, Nick). But it looks like the town\u2019s publicists have already sunk their claws into the couple, because we hear they have been busy working the ground in the days since.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

We were dutifully informed that Daicos and Dalins were among a crop of \u201ccelebrity talent\u201d and \u201ctastemakers\u201d \u2013 some of whom we must admit we\u2019d never heard of \u2013 to drop by the Grey Goose courtside bar on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Of course, it bears noting that Daicos (Josh, to be clear) has his own arrangement with Grey Goose, which is no secret given the sponsored post he blasted out to his followers on Instagram earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Among the others to drop by were Nadia Bartel, an influencer and co-founder of the clothing brand Henne, along with Australian wheelchair tennis legend Dylan Alcott, reality TV and media personality Tully Smyth, and Hugo Gruzman and James Lyell of Flight Facilities.<\/p>\n

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\"StephenStephen Brook<\/a> is a special correspondent for The Age and CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously deputy editor of The Sunday Age. He is a former media editor of The Australian and spent six years in London working for The Guardian.Connect via Twitter<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"JohnJohn Buckley<\/a> is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners