Storm Sanders (born 11 August 1994) is an Australian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 119, on 18 October 2021, and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 8, on 24 October 2022.[1]

Storm Sanders

Sanders at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1994-08-11) 11 August 1994 (age 28) Rockhampton, Australia
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 1,561,837
Singles
Career record	186–161 (53.6%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 119 (18 October 2021)
Current ranking	No. 232 (24 October 2022)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	1R (2014, 2015, 2016, 2022)
French Open	1R (2021)
Wimbledon	Q3 (2021)
US Open	1R (2021)
Doubles
Career record	208–136 (60.5%)
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 8 (24 October 2022)
Current ranking	No. 8 (24 October 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2022)
French Open	2R (2021, 2022)
Wimbledon	SF (2021)
US Open	SF (2022)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2021)
French Open	2R (2022)
Wimbledon	1R (2022)
US Open	W (2022)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	F (2022) Record: 7–4 (63.6%)
Last updated on: 24 October 2022.

Sanders won her first Grand Slam title in mixed doubles at 2022 US Open. She has also won five doubles titles on the WTA Tour as well as two singles titles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.

Sanders debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit in December 2007,[2] and on the senior circuit in November 2008.[3] She won her first professional tournament in February 2013.

She also represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which due to the COVID-19 pandemic were held in 2021, reaching the quarterfinals in the women's doubles competition.

Early life

Sanders was born in Rockhampton, where she began playing tennis at the age of six after watching the Australian Open on television.[4] Her father signed her up with a local tennis club where she was coached by Robert Beak.[5] Her development initially progressed slowly and in Beak's words "wasn't the most talented" despite her strong work ethic and determination.[5] However, according to Beak, Sanders' skills underwent a sudden and rapid improvement after "something clicked".[5]

Beak coached Sanders until she relocated to Perth with her parents in 2005.[6] Sanders continued playing tennis and returned to Queensland the following year to represent Western Australia in the Bruce Cup in Mackay in August 2006 and to compete in the Head Queensland State Age Championships in Rockhampton in September 2006.[7]

Sanders graduated from the School of Isolated and Distance Education in Western Australia in 2011, after which she received a Melbourne-based tennis scholarship.[8] In 2013, Sanders began attending the University of Canberra where she studied a Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree.[9]

Sanders' parents and younger brother all serve in the Australian Defence Force.[6]

Professional career

2013

Sanders began her year ranked 674 in the world. Her first tournament was the Sydney International, where she received a wildcard into qualifying. She stunned Eugenie Bouchard in the first round in two tiebreak sets, but lost in the second round against Misaki Doi. Sanders then received a wildcard into qualifying at the Australian Open where she lost in the first round against Yuliya Beygelzimer. In February, after failing to qualify for the Burnie International, Sanders celebrated a breakthrough victory, winning the $25k Launceston Tennis International tournament.[10][11] She won through both, the qualifying and main draws, without dropping a set. She also achieved the rare feat of defeating the top seeds in both the qualifying draw (Mari Tanaka) and the main draw (Olivia Rogowska) en route to victory. Sanders reached the top 500 in the WTA rankings for the first time after the tournament win. A month later, she reached the final of the $25k event in Ipswich, Queensland, losing to Jelena Pandžić in three sets.[12]

In July, together with her British partner Naomi Broady, Sanders won the $50k Gold River Challenger, defeating Robin Anderson and Lauren Embree, in straight sets.[13]

In the US Open qualifying, she lost in the first round to Nigina Abduraimova from Uzbekistan.[14]

2014

Sanders began the season at the Brisbane International, having received a wildcard into qualifying. She opened with a three-set win over Irina-Camelia Begu.[15] Although taking the opening set, Sanders lost against third seed Hsieh Su-wei in the second round, in three sets.

The following week, she was awarded a wildcard to the main draw of the Hobart International. A first-round win over Peng Shuai[16] saw her match up with second seed Kirsten Flipkens. Pushing the top-20 ranked Belgian to the brink, Sanders lost in a tough three-set match, lasting over two and a half hours.[17] Despite the close loss, it was announced that Sanders had been given a wildcard into the singles main draw of the Australian Open,[18] having been given wildcards for the doubles draw the previous two years. She played Camila Giorgi in round one, losing on her Grand Slam singles debut, in three sets.[19] She also lost in the first round of women's and mixed doubles.

2015

Given a wildcard for the Hobart International,[20] Sanders lost in round one to Camila Giorgi, in three sets. She was then given a wildcard for the Australian Open, but lost at the first stage again, this time to world No. 46, Klára Koukalová, in straight sets.[21]

2016

In July, she qualified for the Jiangxi International - the first time Sanders has come through qualifying at a WTA-level event.[22] She lost to Vania King in the first round. In October, she reached the second round of the Toowoomba ITF event. In November, Sanders won the ITF Canberra doubles title with Jessica Moore.

2017: First WTA Tour doubles title

She attempted to qualify for the Hobart International and Australian Open, losing in the first round. Her best singles performance was a quarterfinal appearance in September at the ITF Brisbane.

In doubles, Sanders won the Nottingham Open, with Monique Adamczak in June. It was their first WTA Tour title.[23] Sanders made two further WTA tournament finals that year.

2018–2020

Sanders played four doubles tournaments in 2018, losing all four in the first round. In 2019, she said "I started getting some shoulder pain which got more intense. I played the Aussie Open that year just focusing on doubles, but after that I stopped played completely and was basically out for all of 2018."[24]

Sanders returned to singles competition in October 2019, after almost a two-year absence. She won the Playford International in her second tournament back.[25] In doubles, she won four ITF doubles titles in 2019.

She won her second WTA doubles title at the 2020 Thailand Open.

2021: WTA quarterfinals, Grand Slam semifinal and top 200

Sanders made the semifinals in mixed doubles at the Australian Open with Marc Polmans.

In February, she qualified for and defeated four higher-ranked opponents to advance to her first WTA-level singles quarterfinal at the Adelaide International, eventually losing to Belinda Bencic.[26] In March, Sanders entered the WTA top 200 for the first time.

In May, she qualified for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the French Open.[1] In June at Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals in women's doubles with Caroline Dolehide.

In July, Sanders reached her second WTA-level quarterfinal at the Prague Open. She also reached the semifinals in doubles at the same event.[27] At the Tokyo Olympics, Sanders partnered Ashleigh Barty in the ladies' doubles and they reached the quarterfinals.[28]

In November, Sanders represented Australia at the BJK Cup Finals. She recorded the biggest win of her singles career, beating world No. 18, Elise Mertens, in her BJK Cup debut.[29] Sanders then defeated Yuliya Hatouka promoting Australia to the semifinals[30] where she lost to Jil Teichmann.[31]

2022: First WTA 1000 & 500 titles, US Open semifinal & mixed doubles title, World No. 8

In January 2022, Sanders won her third and the biggest WTA Tour title, at the Adelaide International, alongside Ashleigh Barty.[32]

In September, Sanders reached the semifinals in doubles at the US Open with Caroline Dolehide.[33] At the same tournament, she teamed up with John Peers to win the mixed doubles title defeating Kirsten Flipkens and Édouard Roger-Vasselin in an epic three set match.[34]

The following month, Sanders won her first WTA 1000 partnering Luisa Stefani at the Guadalajara Open.[35] As a result she stormed into the top 10 in the doubles rankings at World No. 8 on 24 October 2022.[36]

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[37]

Singles

Current through the 2022 US Open.

Doubles

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2022	US Open	Hard	John Peers	Kirsten Flipkens Édouard Roger-Vasselin	4–6, 6–4, [10–7]

WTA 1000 finals

Doubles: 1 (title)

Result	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2022	Guadalajara Open Akron	Hard	Luisa Stefani	Anna Danilina Beatriz Haddad Maia	7–6(7–4), 6–7(2–7), [10–8]

WTA career finals

Doubles: 10 (5 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jun 2017	Nottingham Open, UK	International[lower-alpha 2]	Grass	Monique Adamczak	Jocelyn Rae Laura Robson	6–4, 4–6, [10–4]
Loss	1–1	Sep 2017	Japan Women's Open	International	Hard	Monique Adamczak	Shuko Aoyama Yang Zhaoxuan	0–6, 6–2, [5–10]
Loss	1–2	Sep 2017	Guangzhou Open, China	International	Hard	Monique Adamczak	Elise Mertens Demi Schuurs	2–6, 3–6
Win	2–2	Feb 2020	Hua Hin Championships, Thailand	International	Hard	Arina Rodionova	Barbara Haas Ellen Perez	6–3, 6–3
Loss	2–3	Sep 2020	İstanbul Cup, Turkey	International	Clay	Ellen Perez	Alexa Guarachi Desirae Krawczyk	1–6, 3–6
Loss	2–4	Apr 2021	Charleston Open, U.S.	WTA 250	Clay	Ellen Perez	Hailey Baptiste Caty McNally	7–6(7–4), 4–6, [6–10]
Loss	2–5	Jun 2021	Nottingham Open, UK	WTA 250	Grass	Caroline Dolehide	Lyudmyla Kichenok Makoto Ninomiya	4–6, 7–6(7–3), [8–10]
Win	3–5	Jan 2022	Adelaide International, Australia	WTA 500	Hard	Ashleigh Barty	Darija Jurak Schreiber Andreja Klepač	6–1, 6–4
Win	4–5	Jun 2022	German Open, Berlin	WTA 500	Grass	Kateřina Siniaková	Alizé Cornet Jil Teichmann	6–4, 6–3
Win	5–5	Oct 2022	Guadalajara Open, Mexico	WTA 1000	Hard	Luisa Stefani	Anna Danilina Beatriz Haddad Maia	7–6(7–4), 6–7(2–7), [10–8]

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 2013	ITF Launceston, Australia	25,000	Hard	Shuko Aoyama	6–4, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Mar 2013	ITF Ipswich, Australia	25,000	Hard	Jelena Pandžić	5–7, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	1–2	Sep 2015	ITF Tweed Heads, Australia	15,000	Hard	Dalma Gálfi	2–6, 6–3, 1–6
Win	2–2	Nov 2019	ITF Playford, Australia	60,000	Hard	Lizette Cabrera	6–3, 6–4

Doubles: 22 (13 titles, 9 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	May 2011	ITF Landisville, United States	10,000	Hard	Brooke Rischbieth	Hsu Chieh-yu Nicola Slater	5–7, 3–6
Loss	0–2	May 2011	ITF Sumter, United States	10,000	Hard	Ebony Panoho	Bojana Bobusic Nicola Slater	6–4, 5–7, [6–10]
Loss	0–3	Sep 2011	ITF Alice Springs, Australia	25,000	Hard	Brooke Rischbieth	Maria Fernanda Alves Samantha Murray	6–3, 5–7, [3–10]
Loss	0–4	Nov 2011	ITF Bendigo, Australia	25,000	Hard	Samantha Murray	Stephanie Bengson Tyra Calderwood	6–2, 1–6, [5–10]
Loss	0–5	Mar 2013	ITF Ipswich, Australia	25,000	Hard	Viktorija Rajicic	Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Varatchaya Wongteanchai	6–4, 1–6, [8–10]
Win	1–5	Jul 2013	ITF Sacramento, United States	50,000	Hard	Naomi Broady	Robin Anderson Lauren Embree	6–3, 6–4
Win	2–5	Jan 2014	ITF Burnie, Australia	50,000	Hard	Jarmila Gajdošová	Eri Hozumi Miki Miyamura	6–4, 6–4
Win	3–5	Jul 2014	ITF Sacramento, United States (2)	50,000	Hard	Daria Gavrilova	Maria Sanchez Zoë Gwen Scandalis	6–2, 6–1
Loss	3–6	Jun 2015	ITF Baton Rouge, United States	25,000	Hard	Chanel Simmonds	Samantha Crawford Emily Harman	6–7(4), 1–6
Win	4–6	Jul 2015	ITF Granby, Canada	50,000	Hard	Jessica Moore	Laura Robson Erin Routliffe	7–5, 6–2
Win	5–6	Oct 2015	ITF Cairns, Australia	25,000	Hard	Jessica Moore	Jennifer Elie Asia Muhammad	6–0, 6–3
Loss	5–7	Jun 2016	ITF Ilkley, United Kingdom	50,000	Grass	An-Sophie Mestach	Yang Zhaoxuan Zhang Kailin	3–6, 6–7(5)
Win	6–7	Oct 2016	ITF Canberra, Australia	50,000	Hard	Jessica Moore	Alison Bai Lizette Cabrera	6–3, 6–4
Win	7–7	May 2017	ITF Wiesbaden, Germany	25,000	Clay	Vivian Heisen	Diāna Marcinkēviča Rebeka Masarova	7–5, 5–7, [10–8]
Win	8–7	Jun 2017	ITF Surbiton, United Kingdom	100,000	Grass	Monique Adamczak	Chang Kai-chen Marina Erakovic	7–5, 6–4
Loss	8–8	Mar 2019	ITF Mildura, Australia	25,000	Grass	Olivia Rogowska	Alana Parnaby Alicia Smith	6–4, 3–6, [8–10]
Win	9–8	May 2019	ITF Rome, Italy	25,000	Clay	Arina Rodionova	Gabriela Cé Cristina Dinu	6–2, 6–3
Win	10–8	May 2019	ITF La Bisbal d'Empordá, Spain	60,000	Clay	Arina Rodionova	Dalma Galfi Georgina Garcia-Perez	6–4, 6–4
Win	11–8	Nov 2019	ITF Playford, Australia	60,000	Hard	Asia Muhammad	Naiktha Bains Tereza Mihalíková	6–3, 6–4
Win	12–8	Jan 2020	ITF Burnie, Australia (2)	60,000	Hard	Ellen Perez	Desirae Krawczyk Asia Muhammad	6–3, 6–2
Win	13–8	May 2021	ITF Charleston, United States	100,000	Clay	Caty McNally	Eri Hozumi Miyu Kato	7–5, 4–6, [10–6]
Loss	13–9	Jun 2021	ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom	100,000	Grass	Priscilla Hon	Monica Niculescu Elena-Gabriela Ruse	5–7, 5–7

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Storm Sanders.

• Storm Sanders at the Women's Tennis Association
• Storm Sanders at the International Tennis Federation
• Storm Sanders at the Billie Jean King Cup
• Storm Sanders at Tennis Australia

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