Tamika Hunt

Australia’s Tamika Hunt (nee Saxby) was a prolific player at junior level, broke into the top 50 in 2017, and then, after giving birth, returned to the top 100 of the World Rankings in 2021.

Hunt made her debut on Tour in 2008, and reached the quarter finals of her first two events, the Top End Open and the Australia Day Challenge. She then made it into the last eight of the Black Knight Open, South Australian Open, NSW Classic and NSW Open in 2010.

Her first semi-final appearance came at the North Coast Open later that year, and she made her first final on Tour a year later, at the Mackay Open. Hunt then made five straight semi-final appearances, including at the ACT Open and the City of Perth International Challenge.

The Australian continued to make a string of semi-finals throughout the next two years before she made another final, doing so at the Rotterdam Open Squash in 2014. 2016 was her breakout year, as she claimed five victories, including four in a row.

She won her first title at the City of Perth Squash Challenger Open, before then winning the Sandgate Open, NSW Squash Open Championships and the South Australian Open in successive events. The North Coast Open was her fifth title, with that coming in the latter stages of the year.

2017 was another good year for Hunt, as she broke into the top 50 for the first time, thanks to winning four more titles. The Australian was victorious at the City of Kalgoorlie & Boulder Golden Open, North Coast Open, Squash NSW Open Championships and the Pacific Toyota Cairns Squash International.

She then made another final, at the South Australian Open in 2018, before leaving the Tour to give birth to her first child. Hunt returned in 2021, and won her first event back, claiming her tenth career title at the Sandgate Open. She also made the final of the North Coast Open and move back inside the world’s top 100.