Three times a finalist under the big oak trees on Finals Sunday at famed Libbey Park over the past five years, Kent Hunter has never been able to get that elusive last victory at The Ojai.

But you would have never been able to guess that watching Hunter leave the courts and trophy ceremony recently as he sported a huge grin as fan after fan congratulated him on a tournament well played. Tournament Director Anne Williamson approached Hunter and lauded him for his sportsmanship and graciousness during the event. 

“I thought this time I could win it, but I guess not,” said the smiling 23-year-old Hunter following his 6-3, 6-4 loss to Karue Sell in the Ojai Open singles final. “Maybe one day I’ll come back and win it.”

Twice in 2018 Hunter came up a tad short at The Ojai falling in the singles and doubles finals at Libbey Park, both times to Cerritos College teammates. Hunter was named an ITA Junior College All-American and his Ojai losses were the only ones he suffered all season finishing 28-1 in singles and 24-1 in doubles. 

Perhaps the smile came easy as Hunter sat next to his girlfriend Kenadi Hance and reflected on his tennis journey, and his appreciation for being back at one of his favorite tournaments after losing out on playing Ojai for two years because of Covid following his transfer to Cal-Berkeley after his two years at Cerritos. In his first season at Cal, Hunter went 9-7 in singles and 6-3 in doubles.

Following graduation, Hunter transferred to LSU and was second-team All-SEC. He then moved on to Tennessee and played for the Vols in the fall but decided to return home at the start of the year after his scholarship fell through and he was unable to afford to remain in school. 

“It was never easy,” said Hunter, who was born in Compton and grew up in Watts. “My dad worked two jobs and we were in low-income housing and even lived in an RV for a few years.” 

Hunter was introduced to the sport by his mother Karen who, after watching the success of the Williams’ sisters, started taking Kent’s two older sisters out on the public courts at Kenneth Watts Park and feeding them balls for hours at a time. 

“I just followed them out there because there was nowhere else for me to go,” said Hunter, who said he was basically self-taught. “I never had a coach. I just had to figure it out as I went along.” 

When he became a teenager, Hunter attended Pete Brown Junior Tennis Program clinics and there forged a bond with the program’s director Marty Woods.

Hunter’s paternal father Kent Hunter, Sr., was often sick during those formative years suffering from kidney disease. He was unable to get a desperately needed transplant and passed away while Kent was at Cal.

“I’ve had quite the tennis journey,” said Hunter, who returned to work at the South Bay Tennis Center for his boss and girlfriend’s mother Courtney Hance after leaving Tennessee. “The Hances are like my adopted family. They took me in and have done so much for me.” 

Hunter took a few months off to teach tennis, but soon “got the itch’ to return to competitive tennis and see if he could fulfill his dream of becoming a pro tennis player. 

He entered the first SoCal Pro Series pre-qualifying event at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club a few weeks ago and won it earning a main draw into the first of seven events starting May 29. He hopes by doing well in the Series and earning valuable ATP points along the way, he can start traveling on tour full-time. 

“My main goal is to see if I can compete with these guys and expose myself to that life and see how I compare,” Hunter said. “When I was younger it was something I always aspired to and dreamed about. I never thought I could do it. I mean, I’m just a little kid from the ghetto. I wasn’t exactly in the greatest position to come out of nowhere, but that was always the dream to see how far I can take it.”