Storm Hunter insists she did not want to think about Aryna Sabalenka’s serving woes before or during their 2022 Australian Open match and ultimately realized that she was absolutely right to treat the Belarusian with the biggest respect.
If you remember well, the current world No. 1 was battling major issues on her serve at the start of the 2022 season. After blasting 18 double faults against Kaja Juvan in Adelaide, the 26-year-old also double faulted 21 times a couple of days later versus Rebecca Peterson – she lost both matches.
Going into the 2022 Australian Open, Sabalenka looked a bit lost on the court as it was clear that she was doubting herself and low confidence.
Hunter recalls drawing Sabalenka at the Australian Open
“I don’t care whether she has yips or not – she’s No. 2 in the world. There was never a conversation in my team of like ‘oh, once she starts double faulting, you’re gonna get this.’ It was almost probably unprofessional or immature to think ‘oh she’s just going to keep serving like that’. Because she’s a superstar; we respected her, her game, and her serve. We couldn’t take that for granted,” Hunter told the Australian Open website.
Early in the match, Sabalenka sprayed a couple of double faults and dropped the opener before also falling…
