Samantha Stosur

Samantha Stosur

Country (sports)  Australia
Residence Gold Coast, Australia
Born (1984-03-30) 30 March 1984
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height 175 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Turned pro 1999
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es) David Taylor (2008–2013, 2015-)
Miles Maclagan (2013–2014)
Simon Rea (2014–2015)
Prize money US$ 15,122,126
Official website Official website
Singles
Career record 513–347 (59.65%)
Career titles 8 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking No. 4 (21 February 2011)
Current ranking No. 23 (2 May 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 4R (2006, 2010)
French Open F (2010)
Wimbledon 3R (2009, 2013, 2015)
US Open W (2011)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals SF (2010, 2011)
Olympic Games 2R (2008)
Doubles
Career record 380–194
Career titles 24 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest ranking No. 1 (6 February 2006)
Current ranking No. 70 (8 February 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open F (2006)
French Open W (2006)
Wimbledon F (2008, 2009, 2011)
US Open W (2005)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals W (2005, 2006)
Olympic Games 2R (2008)
Mixed doubles
Career titles 3
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (2005)
French Open SF (2005)
Wimbledon W (2008, 2014)
US Open QF (2005)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic Games QF (2012)
Team competitions
Fed Cup SF (2014), Record 33–15
Hopman Cup RR (2006, 2010, 2014)
Last updated on: 8 February 2016.

Samantha Jane "Sam" Stosur (/ˈstoʊsə/ STOE-ser; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former World No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she held for 61 weeks, and a former World No. 4 in singles.[2]

Stosur won the 2011 US Open, defeating Serena Williams in the final and becoming the first Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980 to win a Grand Slam singles tournament.[3] Stosur has won five other Grand Slam titles to date: the 2005 US Open and 2006 French Open in women's doubles; and the 2005 Australian Open, 2008 and 2014 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles.

She was also the runner-up of the singles event at the 2010 French Open, defeating four-time champion Justine Henin, World No. 1 Serena Williams, and World No. 4 Jelena Janković en route to the final.

Early life

Stosur was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel.[4] She is of Polish descent through her grandfather.[5] When she was six, the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, and the family moved to Adelaide.[6] There she started playing tennis, when she was given a racquet for Christmas at the age of eight. While her parents worked long hours at the cafe they had started, Stosur played at local courts with older brother Daniel, who later encouraged their parents to take her to tennis lessons.[7] Her family returned to the Gold Coast when Stosur was 11 years of age.[8] She attended Helensvale State High School on the Gold Coast and Gaven State School.[9] She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.[4]

At the age of 14, Stosur joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters. In 2001, when she was 16, she joined the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program.[4]

Tennis career

Early career

Stosur first played professional tennis in 1999 on the ITF circuit. She debuted on the Women's Tennis Association tour in 2000, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. In 2001 she won four straight ITF titles. In 2002 she lost in the first round at the Gold Coast event.

In 2003, Stosur won her first WTA singles matches, reaching the third round of the Australian Open. She lost in the third round to no. 7 seed, Daniela Hantuchová. She also qualified for a WTA event in Memphis.

In 2004, Stosur reached the semifinals of the Gold Coast event, before falling to Ai Sugiyama. The next week, she reached the second round of the WTA tournament in Hobart, then the second round of the Australian Open. She later qualified for WTA events in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Vienna and Birmingham. Stosur competed at the Athens Olympics, where she lost in the first round. She continued to play WTA qualifying events, qualifying for the Japan Open and Bali in the autumn of 2004. At the end of the 2004 season, Stosur reached the doubles final in Québec City, partnered with Els Callens from Belgium.

2005: Doubles success

In 2005 Stosur reached her first WTA tour final at her home event in Gold Coast, losing to Patty Schnyder. She was runner-up at the Sydney event, defeating by walkover the world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinal and Elena Dementieva in the semifinal, before losing to fellow Australian Alicia Molik, and won her first doubles title partnering Australian Bryanne Stewart at the same tournament. Stosur lost to world no. 2 Amélie Mauresmo in the first round of the Australian Open, but won the mixed doubles title with Scott Draper over Liezel Huber and Kevin Ullyett.

In July, she teamed up with American Lisa Raymond, winning seven WTA doubles titles before the end of the year, including the U.S. Open, the Kremlin Cup, and the WTA Tour Championships. Stosur finished the year ranked no. 46 in singles and no. 2 in doubles.

2006: Doubles world no. 1

Stosur during the 2006 Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia

In 2006 Stosur represented Australia alongside Todd Reid at the Hopman Cup, winning all of her singles matches. She then lost in the first round in N.S.W. Open/Medibank International to Czech Nicole Vaidišová in three sets. At the Australian Open, Stosur made it to the fourth round in singles, falling to Martina Hingis. She and Lisa Raymond also made it to the women's doubles final, where they were defeated by Chinese duo Yan Zi and Zheng Jie.

After losing in Melbourne, Stosur and Raymond won 18 straight matches, winning titles in Tokyo, Memphis, Indian Wells, and Miami. They also won in Charleston, at the French Open, and the WTA Tour Championships. On 28 August, Stosur achieved a career-high ranking of number 30, after reaching the semifinals at New Haven, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in two tiebreakers. She finished off the year winning the doubles title at the WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, ranked no. 1 in doubles and a career-high to that point no. 29 in singles.

2007: Lyme disease

Stosur and Lisa Raymond successfully defended their doubles titles in Tokyo, Indian Wells, and Miami. The pair also won the German Open in Berlin. In singles, Stosur reached three quarterfinals, at Gold Coast, Tokyo, and Memphis. In the Rome tournament, she defeated the first seed Amélie Mauresmo in the second round, saving two match points, before losing to Patty Schnyder in the following round.

After the French Open, Stosur started showing symptoms of what was months later diagnosed as Lyme disease, an infection transmitted by the bite of ticks. By then, her form had slumped. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon, withdrew from many tournaments on the American hardcourt circuit, and lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, where she was seeded 29th, to no. 96 rated Alizé Cornet of France. Stosur did not play in any more tournaments in 2007.

2008: Return from illness

Stosur at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.

Stosur returned playing two ITF tournaments before the 2008 Rome Masters in May, where she was defeated in the second round by Venus Williams. The tournament also saw the return of the doubles team of Stosur and Lisa Raymond with a second-round loss. Less than a month later, they were defeated in the third round of the 2008 French Open, where Stosur reached the second round in singles, losing to Petra Kvitová.

Stosur showed great promise at Wimbledon: while only making the second round in singles, losing to Nicole Vaidišová, she made the finals of both the ladies and mixed doubles. She and Raymond lost the final to Venus and Serena Williams. The Williams sisters had just played against each other in the final of the ladies singles. With mixed doubles partner Bob Bryan, Stosur defeated Mike Bryan and Katarina Srebotnik to win the title.

At the Beijing Olympics, Stosur was defeated in the second round of the singles tournament by fourth seed Serena Williams. In doubles, Stosur (formerly ranked no. 1) partnered Rennae Stubbs, ranked no. 5 at the time; however, the pair were unseeded because the ITF determined the seedings for the doubles competition based on both singles and doubles rankings standings. The pair lost in the second round to the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who were then ranked no. 2.

At the US Open, Stosur lost in the first round of singles to seventh seed Venus Williams. She and Mahesh Bhupathi were eliminated in the second round of the mixed doubles competition by Stubbs and Robert Lindstedt. Raymond and Stosur were runners-up in the women's doubles event, losing to the top-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

By the end of the year, Stosur was ranked no. 52 in singles, 110 spots above her ranking in June. In spite of missing the first 4 1/2 months of the tour, Raymond and Stosur finished the season as the seventh team at the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, with Stosur ranked no. 14 in doubles, 156 positions higher than she was when she returned to playing on the ITF circuit.

2009: Singles breakthrough

Stosur (left) with doubles partner Rennae Stubbs at the 2009 Australian Open

In her first tournament of the year, Stosur fell to Lucie Šafářová in the second round of the Brisbane International. At the Medibank International, she was defeated by top seed Serena Williams in a close three-set match. Seeded fourth in doubles, the pair of Stosur and Rennae Stubbs lost to Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-wei in the first round of the tournament. Stosur defeated Klára Zakopalová and Sabine Lisicki before losing in the third round to world no. 4 Elena Dementieva at the 2009 Australian Open. She also won through to the third round in doubles, partnering Stubbs, defeating the Radwańska sisters. However, they then lost to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams. In the Fed Cup Asia/Oceanic Zone competition, Stosur won four matches against various opponents from South Korea, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei. The Australian team, which also included Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokić, advanced to the World Group II play-offs, winning all of its twelve rubbers.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Stosur defeated Magdaléna Rybáriková in straight sets before losing in the second round to Zheng Jie after winning the first set. Together with Stubbs, she was ousted in the semifinals of the doubles competition by the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber. In Indian Wells, Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone in the first round before she was eliminated in the second round by seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets. In doubles, Stosur and Stubbs lost to Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka in the second round. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Stosur defeated Sofia Arvidsson and Sybille Bammer before having the biggest win of her career against world no. 2 Dinara Safina in the third round. Safina would have reached the no. 1 ranking had she won the match. Stosur then defeated former world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo in the fourth round. She lost to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. She reached the same round in doubles, losing to Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Patty Schnyder. Due to her results, Stosur's singles ranking rose from no. 43 to no. 31.

At the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Stosur was eliminated in the first round by second seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. She then played for the Australian Fed Cup team in Mildura. Australia against Switzerland in their World Group II playoff. Stosur won the opening rubber of the tie in straight sets, then sealed the victory for Australia in the third rubber with a tight three-set victory, improving her 2009 Fed Cup singles record to 6–0. With this result, the Australian team advanced to the World Group II in 2010.

In the clay season, Stosur was eliminated in the first round of the Rome Masters by qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova, and was also defeated in her first match in doubles. She then competed at the Madrid Masters, where she upset tenth seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the second round. Stosur and Stubbs made it to the semifinals, but were defeated by the world no. 1 team of Black and Huber. At the 2009 French Open, Stosur and Stubbs fell in the third round to 16th seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie. In singles, Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone in the first round and Yanina Wickmayer in the second. She then beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva in the third round and Virginie Razzano of France for a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea and advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal against seventh seed and eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. After losing the first set, Stosur fought back a break of serve to win the second set in a tiebreak, but lost in the final set. This made her the lowest-ranked seed in the tournament to reach the furthest. With this result, Stosur cracked the top 20 for the first time in her career.

Stosur started the grass season playing at the Aegon International. She defeated Sabine Lisicki in the first round, before losing in the second round to sixth seed and eventual champion Wozniacki. Having beaten the world no. 1 team of Black and Huber in the semifinals, she was a runner-up in the doubles tournament, losing the final to Ai Sugiyama and Akgul Amanmuradova with Stubbs. As the 18th seed at Wimbledon, Stosur defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Tatjana Maria, before losing in the third round to 13th seed Ana Ivanovic. In ladies' doubles, Stosur reached her second consecutive final, this time partnering Stubbs. The third seeds beat second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in three sets in the semifinals, but were defeated in the final by fourth seeds Venus and Serena Williams in straight sets. Stosur was also defending the mixed doubles title with Bob Bryan, but the second seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals by ninyh seeds and eventual champions Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Mark Knowles.

Stosur at the 2009 US Open

Stosur started the US Open Series in Stanford, making it into the semifinals after defeating sixth seed Dominika Cibulková, Monica Niculescu and causing a massive upset win over Serena Williams. She lost to eighth seed Marion Bartoli in three sets. Stosur then competed at the LA Women's Tennis Championships as the no. 13 seed. She made it to her fifth WTA Tour final after defeating Monica Niculescu, Maria Kirilenko, Ana Ivanovic and Zheng Jie. She lost the final to tenth seed Flavia Pennetta. Her next tournament was Toronto, where she defeated Heidi El Tabakh, sixth seed Kuznetsova and Virginie Razzano before being eliminated by fourth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals in three sets. At the same tournament, Stosur and Stubbs defeated the world no. 1 team of Black and Huber in the semifinals but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez in the final. With these results, Stosur improved her ranking to a career-high number 15 in singles just in time for the US Open, where she was seeded accordingly. She opened with a three set win over Ai Sugiyama before losing to American wildcard Vania King in the second round. Stosur entered the doubles event with compatriot Stubbs. As the third seeds, they made the semifinals without dropping a set, where they faced first seeds Black and Huber. They won the first set, but lost the next two after a two-day rain interruption.

At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Stosur won her opening round over Alexa Glatch but was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the second round with Sharapova dropping just one game. Seeded 15th at the China Open, Stosur lost a three-setter to Alizé Cornet. Stosur then played in Osaka as the third seed. Stosur reached final after defeating Alexandra Panova, Akiko Morigami, Jill Craybas and Wozniacki. Stosur captured her first-ever title on the WTA tour by beating Francesca Schiavone in the final in just over an hour. This win secured her a spot at the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions held in Bali. She also qualified at the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in the doubles event partnering compatriot Stubbs. They lost a hard-fought semifinals match against no. 1 seeds Black and Huber. Stosur was one of only two players on tour who played at both year-end championships. The other one was María José Martínez Sánchez, who was in Stosur's group at Bali for the round-robin stage with Ágnes Szávay. Stosur won her first match against Szávay in three sets but lost her second to María José Martínez Sánchez. This loss cost her the semifinals spot, as Martínez Sánchez won both her round-robin matches.

2010: World's Top 10 and first singles Grand Slam final

Alongside Lleyton Hewitt, Stosur represented Australia at the Hopman Cup. The Australians were the top seeds. Their first tie was against Romania, where Stosur lost unexpectedly to Sorana Cîrstea in a three-setter, and then lost in the mixed doubles. The next tie was against the USA, where Stosur beat Melanie Oudin in straight sets. Hewitt also won his singles match against John Isner, sealing the tie. In mixed doubles, Hewitt-Stosur lost. To advance to the final, Australia needed to win their tie against Spain 3–0. This result was, however, reversed, Australia losing to Spain 0–3. Stosur's last preparation tournament prior to the Australian Open was the Medibank International where she lost to Flavia Pennetta in the first round. Stosur was guaranteed a seeding of 13 for the Australian Open. She lost against world number 1 and defending champion Serena Williams in two sets. Despite the loss, she moved up to a career-high ranking of no. 11. She played with Russian Nadia Petrova in the doubles event of the Australian Open. They were seeded fifth, but lost to another Russia-Australian duo, Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Rodionova in the first round. She then travelled to Adelaide to represent Australia at the Fed Cup alongside Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua, and Rennae Stubbs against Spain. Stosur won both of her singles matches by beating María José Martínez Sánchez, and Anabel Medina Garrigues. Stosur and Stubbs also won their doubles match, gifting Australia a 3–2 win in the tie.

Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded ninth. Stosur was defeated in the opening round, at the hands of veteran Tathiana Garbin. She had better success in the doubles partnering Petrova. The pair was seeded fourth and reached the semifinals after receiving a first-round bye, then a walkover, and a win against fifth seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone. Seeded eighth at the BNP Paribas Open, Stosur received a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 12th seed and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, to move through to her first semifinal at the tournament, where she lost to eventual champion Jelena Janković in straight sets, with Stosur making 47 unforced errors in the match. With her success, she reached a career-high ranking of no. 10, making her only the third Australian woman to achieve this feat in 10 years, after Jelena Dokić reached number 4 in 2002 and Alicia Molik reached number 8 in 2005. In doubles, Stosur was third seed with Petrova. They had a comfortable route to the final, dropping only one set, where they lost to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik. Stosur's next tournament was the Miami Masters, where she was seeded ninth which allowed her a bye in the first round. She lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. In the doubles draw, Stosur and Petrova were seeded third and reached the final without dropping a set. However, Stosur and Petrova were defeated in the second straight final, losing in a super-tiebreak [7–10] to Gisela Dulko and Pennetta.

Stosur reached her first singles Grand Slam Final at Roland Garros

Stosur began her clay season at the Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded fourth. In the final, she defeated Zvonareva in straight sets, for her fifth consecutive victory over the Russian. With this, she won her second and biggest WTA title, which put her back inside the top 10 at world no. 10. She is the only Australian woman to have won this title. Stosur competed in the World Group Play-offs in Ukraine. After the first day, the Aussies had a commanding lead, going 2–0 against Ukraine. This was helped by a win from Stosur against Mariya Koryttseva, and Anastasia Rodionova's win over Alona Bondarenko. Stosur then secured victory for Australia with a two-sets win over Lyudmyla Kichenok. Because of this, Australia played in the World Group in 2011 against the top seed Italy. Stosur then competed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Her 11-game winning streak was ended by former world no. 1 Justine Henin in the final in three sets. Despite this result, Stosur was awarded a new career high ranking of world no. 8.

Her next scheduled tournament was the Rome Masters; however, Stosur had to withdraw due to fatigue. With this, her next scheduled tournament was the Madrid Open as the no. 8 seed. In the quarterfinals, Stosur was broken multiple times by Venus Williams, losing 3–6, 3–6. Because of her run, she rose to world no. 7. In doubles, Stosur resumed her partnership with Petrova as third seeds with a first-round bye. However, they were knocked out in the second round by Anastasia Rodionova and Patty Schnyder. Coming into the French Open Stosur was seeded seventh and was one of the favourites to win the title, due to her semifinal run in 2009 and her tour-best 14–2 record on clay in 2010. She was drawn in the same quarter as Henin, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, which was dubbed the toughest section of the draw. Becoming the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Wendy Turnbull at the 1980 Australian Open, she was the heavy favourite for the title, by dispatching three consecutive former world no. 1's and favorites for the title Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Janković). She was upset by Italian Francesca Schiavone in the final.

In doubles, Stosur and her partner Petrova were the fourth seeds. They defeated Irina Pavlovic and Laura Thorpe in the first round, and Vania King and Michaëlla Krajicek in the second round. Their run came to an end at the hands of Ukrainian sisters Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko, when the fourth seeds retired trailing 1–6, 0–1. Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the Aegon International in Eastbourne in the week prior to Wimbledon. In the semifinal she was defeated by eventual champion Ekaterina Makarova, despite leading the first set 3–0 and having a chance to serve for that set at 5–3. With her semifinals appearance in Eastbourne, she attained a new career high of world no. 6. Also, with this appearance, she was ranked no. 1 in the race to the WTA Tour Championships in Doha. Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships. As the sixth seed, Stosur fell in the first round to Kaia Kanepi in straight sets, after saving three match points. As the French Open champion Francesca Schiavone also lost in the first round, Stosur and Schiavone were the first two women in history who reached the French Open final, but failed to win a match at Wimbledon. Despite not winning a match, she received a new career-high ranking of world no. 5, due to Elena Dementieva's withdrawal from the tournament due to injury. Dementieva held the world no. 5 position before the 2010 Wimbledon Championships began and had semifinal points to defend. Stosur also played in the doubles event, hoping to have success similar to the previous year with then-partner Stubbs. She played with her 2010 partner Petrova as the third seeds, but lost in the third round to eventual champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. She also competed in the mixed doubles event as first seeds with Nenad Zimonjić. They received a bye in the first round, and in the second round, they defeated Colin Fleming and Sarah Borwell. They then faced the Belgium duo Xavier Malisse and Clijsters, but lost in two sets.

Stosur at the 2010 US Open

Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, where she was the first seed, but lost in a semifinal match-up with Victoria Azarenka. She then participated in the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. As the second seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to Pennetta. Due to a shoulder injury, she withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters and the Rogers Cup in Montreal. This meant that Stosur had only taken part in one of the five Premier 5 tournaments of the year. After taking time off to recover from her injury, Stosur took part in the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament at New Haven, in hopes of regaining some of the lost ranking points and in preparation for the US Open. Stosur lost to Petrova in the quarterfinals. At the US Open Stosur was seeded fifth. In her first US Open quarterfinal, she was up a break in the third set, before falling to defending champion and second seed Clijsters in three sets. Stosur announced that she would not take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Instead, she competed at the final Premier Mandatory event of the year, the China Open, where she lost in the first round to qualifier, Anastasija Sevastova in three sets. Stosur qualified in singles for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Doha for the first time in her career, following the withdrawal of American, Venus Williams.[10]

Stosur then attempted to defend her title at the HP Open as top seed, her only WTA International tournament of the year. She lost against Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals in a final set tiebrreak, becoming the first top 10 player in WTA history to lose to an opponent over the age of 40. Stosur competed at the 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she was seeded fifth. Stosur was drawn in the Maroon Group alongside world no. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, world no. 6 Francesca Schiavone, and world no. 9 Elena Dementieva, seeded first, fourth, and seventh respectively, due to the William Sisters' withdrawal. In her first match against Schiavone, she avenged her Roland Garros final loss to the Italian by defeating her in straight sets, coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the first set. Her next opponent was world no. 1 Wozniacki. Stosur continued her dominant showing, recording a straight sets win to secure her spot in the semifinals. She then fell to Elena Dementieva, but secured her spot in the semifinals by winning one set. Stosur finished in first position in her round-robin group, but lost to three-time US Open Champion and world no. 4 Clijsters in the semifinals. Stosur ended her year at world no. 6. In addition, Stosur was the only player in 2010 to defeat both current world no. 1 players, Serena Williams and Wozniacki. She also had the best percentage of points scored on second serve amongst her peers.

2011: First Major Title at US Open and career high ranking

Stosur began her 2011 season by competing at the Brisbane International. She fell in straight sets to fellow Australian, Jarmila Groth in the second round. After this tournament, Stosur competed at the Medibank Sydney International as the fourth seed. She lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Stosur was seeded fifth at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost in the third round to 25th seed Petra Kvitová. Stosur's ranking rose to number 5, despite her early loss at the Australian Open. Stosur then rose to a new career high no. 4, following a quarterfinal showing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Stosur had a disappointing start to the first American leg of the year, falling in the third round of the Indian Wells to Dinara Safina. In Miami, Stosur was seeded fourth, but was defeated in straight sets in the fourth round by 16th seed and former no. 1 Maria Sharapova. After Miami, Stosur played at Charleston, where she failed to defend her title, falling in the third round to Elena Vesnina in two sets.

In Stuttgart, as fifth seed, Stosur lost to Germany's Julia Görges in the semifinals. However, she won in the doubles tournament, partnering Germany's Sabine Lisicki, by defeating the German team of Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Wöhr in the final. Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was the fifth seed. She lost in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets. She subsequently competed in Rome where, the sixth-seeded Stosur reached the final, but was beaten by seventh seed Sharapova. Stosur was seeded eighth at the French Open, yet was upset by Gisela Dulko, in the third round. As a result of this loss Stosur's ranking dropped to world no. 10.

Stosur at 2011 Wimbledon.

Stosur's next tournament was the Aegon International as seventh seed. She progressed to the semifinals, where she lost to Marion Bartoli. At Wimbledon, Stosur suffered a first-round loss to world no. 262 Melinda Czink. In mixed doubles, Stosur partnered with Mike Bryan, but lost in the first round. In ladies doubles, Stosur partnered with Sabine Lisicki. Along the way, the pair upset the top seeds and defending champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round. Stosur and Lisicki made it to the final, but lost in straight sets to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik.

Stosur began her US Open Series campaign with a straight-set loss to her doubles partner, Lisicki, in the second round of Bank of the West Classic. However, Stosur bounced back at the Rogers Cup in Toronto by reaching the final, having defeated Li Na and Agnieszka Radwańska along the way. Stosur was defeated by Serena Williams in the final in two sets. She then competed in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou in the first round. She would then face Serena Williams for the second week in a row in the second round. However, Williams withdrew because of a toe injury, resulting in a walkover for Stosur. In the third round, she defeated fifth seed Li Na for the second time in two weeks in three sets. She then faced Sharapova in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets. Stosur was seeded ninth at the US Open, and she drew Sofia Arvidsson in the first round and defeated her in straight sets.[11] In the second round, she defeated American Coco Vandeweghe.[12] The third round was one of Stosur's hardest matches against Nadia Petrova, finally prevailing in three sets after a 3-hour 16 minute battle, in what was the longest women's singles match in the tournament's history (which it was broken until Johanna Konta and Garbiñe Muguruza four years later in 2015).[13] She played Maria Kirilenko in the fourth round and won in three sets. The second set tiebreak score of 15–17 was the longest in any Major in the history of women's tennis.[14] She then beat second seed Vera Zvonareva, to reach the semifinals for the first time.[15] Stosur followed this milestone with a three-sets win over German player Angelique Kerber to reach her first US Open singles final,[16] where she defeated three-time champion Serena Williams, for her first Grand Slam tournament singles title,[17][18][19] the first by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980.[20]

Stosur suffered two second round losses at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the 2011 China Open, both to Maria Kirilenko. However, on 9 October 2011 it was announced that Stosur had qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Stosur was runner-up at the HP Open where she was defeated by second seed, Marion Bartoli in the final. Along the way she defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, Misaki Doi, seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers and Zheng Jie. Stosur was placed in the white group for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships. Stosur's first match was against second seed Sharapova, winning the match in two sets. In this match, not only did Stosur cause an upset against the second seed, she won her first match against the Russian after losing to Sharapova in their previous nine encounters. In addition, Stosur has won six of her last seven matches against current top 2 players. (The only loss against a current top two player at that time was world no. 1, Serena Williams in the 2010 Australian Open.) In Stosur's second round robin match, she lost to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka. This was her fifth loss against Azarenka and has yet to win a single set from Azarenka. Stosur beat fifth seed Li Na for the loss of one game in her final round robin match to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year, where she met maroon group winner, Petra Kvitová for a spot in the final. She lost the match in three sets, despite being 7–5, 1–0 up with a breakpoint to go 2–0. Despite the loss, this was the first time Stosur won a set against Kvitová. Kvitová went on to defeat Azarenka in the final, making it the second consecutive year that Stosur lost to the eventual champion in the semifinals. Because of Stosur's performance at the WTA Championships, she replaced Vera Zvonareva as the World Number 6, and will finish the season ranked 6 for the second straight year.

2012: Continued success

Seeded first, Stosur started the year by losing in the second round of the Brisbane International to Iveta Benešová. Stosur then suffered two first-round defeats at the hands of Francesca Schiavone at the Apia International Sydney, and then by Romanian Sorana Cîrstea, at the Australian Open. Stosur admitted that she could not cope under the heavy weight of home expectations, especially after winning the 2011 U.S. Open.[21] Despite the result, Stosur's ranking remained at no 5. due to her not having many ranking points to defend and Li Na failing to defend her finalist points from the 2011 Australian Open. Stosur then traveled to Fribourg to represent Australia in their Fed Cup tie against Switzerland. She won both of her singles rubbers against Timea Bacsinszky and Stefanie Vögele.

Stosur then competed at the Qatar Total Open in Doha. She was seeded third and avenged her loss in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating Sorana Cîrstea in the second round; she eventually lost in the final to current world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who had not lost a match (17–0) to that point in 2012. Her second Middle-East tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she defeated Lucie Šafářová in the second round in three sets, but for the second straight year she lost to former World No. 1 Jelena Janković. Stosur then traveled to the United States to compete in the BNP Paribas Open, where she defeated young American Irina Falconi, to make the third round, where she lost a very tough match to Nadia Petrova. Then at the Miami Open, Stosur made the quarterfinals after a big comeback from a set and 2–5 down to defeat Chanelle Scheepers. Serena Williams got revenge on Stosur for the 2011 US Open final by defeating her in straight sets.

Sam Stosur practising before her 3rd round match with Nadia Petrova.

At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Stosur entered the tournament as second seed and had a first-round bye. Stosur defeated wild card Jamie Hampton in the second round and Galina Voskoboeva in the third round. In the quarterfinals, Stosur defeated Venus Williams for the first time after losing to her in the previous four encounters. However, Stosur's run ended in the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams. After this, Stosur made her way to Stuttgart, where she won both her singles matches against Germany in the Fed Cup World Group Play-offs. She defeated two top-20 players Angelique Kerber, the same player who Stosur faced in the 2011 US Open semifinal, and Andrea Petkovic for their first encounter. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stosur reached the quarterfinals by defeating the defending champion Julia Görges in three sets. She lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova, despite holding a match point in the second set. Stosur next played at the Madrid Open, Stosur defeated Petra Martić in a third set tiebreak and Christina McHale in the first two rounds on the blue clay courts. Stosur's third-round opponent was Petra Cetkovská. Stosur won the match in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost a tight match to Lucie Hradecká in two tiebreaks. Her final tournament before the French Open was the Italian Open, where she defeated Sara Errani, to make the third round, where she lost to former World No. 1 Venus Williams.

At the French Open, as the sixth seed, Stosur advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set. She defeated Petrova, in the third round, and then outplayed Sloane Stephens in straight sets. She defeated Dominika Cibulková in two sets to reach her third French Open semifinal.[22] She lost to Sara Errani in three sets in the semifinals.[23] Her WTA world ranking was No. 5 after the tournament.

Stosur lost her second-round match against Arantxa Rus at Wimbledon.[24] In the London 2012 Olympics, Stosur lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro. Stosur won the first set but lost the second and then the third set 8–10.[25] Stosur played mixed Mixed Doubles with former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt. They reached the quarterfinals together, but lost to crowd favorites Andy Murray and Laura Robson, who were competing for Great Britain.

At the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Stosur entered the tournament as the third seed. Stosur had a bye in the first round, and she played Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round winning in three sets. Stosur played Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the second round, comfortably prevailing in two sets. In the quarterfinals, Stosur played wildcard and former World No. 1, Venus Williams. Williams won in three sets. Defending a grand slam title for the first time, Stosur comfortably made it through the first three rounds at the US Open against Petra Martić, Edina Gallovits-Hall, and 31st seed Varvara Lepchenko. Stosur only lost thirteen games in the first three rounds. Stosur was then up against rising star Laura Robson. Robson had defeated Kim Clijsters and Li Na en route to the fourth round. Stosur comfortably defeated Robson in straight sets. Stosur lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling three-set showdown, which is regarded as the match of the championships. She succumbed 7 points to 5 in the final-set tiebreaker and was two points away from clinching victory. It was the first time Stosur had ever taken a set of Azarenka. Despite not defending the title, Stosur did win the inaugural US Open Sportsmanship award.

Her net tournament was the Toray Pan Pacific Open. As the eighth seed, Stosur had a bye in the first round. Stosur played Francesca Schiavone in the second round, winning in a three-set battle. Stosur defeated 12th seed Dominika Cibulková in the third round in two sets. In the quarterfinals, Stosur played World No. 2, Maria Sharapova. Stosur beat Sharapova in straight sets, causing a huge upset considering Stosur had only beaten Sharapova once in eleven matches. Stosur lost in the semi-finals to former doubles partner and eventual champion Petrova in straight sets.

2013: Struggles with form

Stosur started her year at the Brisbane International where she was seeded seventh. Before the tournament started, Stosur admitted that she had only 10 days of practice on court since surgery to remove a spur from her left ankle. This was just six weeks prior to the first round match. Stosur lost in the first round to Sofia Arvidsson where she committed 48 unforced errors.[26] Stosur played China's Jie Zheng in the first round at the Apia International Sydney, where she was seeded sixth. Stosur lost in a tight three-set battle. It was Stosur's fifth consecutive loss in Australia; however, she broke a nine-set losing streak in the country by winning the second set.[27] At the 2013 Australian Open, where she was seeded ninth, Stosur broke her Australian hoodoo, by defeating Kai-Chen Chang in the first round in a straight sets win.[28] However she lost in the second round to Jie Zheng for the second straight tournament despite being up 5–2 up in the third set.[29]

Stosur wins the Southern California Open in 2013

Stosur bounced back from a poor start to the season to win her second round match at the Qatar Total Open over Monica Niculescu in three sets.[30] She then defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarterfinals.[31] Stosur went on to lose the quarterfinal match against Maria Sharapova.[32] Stosur then competed at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded seventh. She opened her campaign with a two set victory over Ekaterina Makarova[33] and then moved into the quarterfinals after defeating Hsieh Su-wei.[34] For the second week in a row Stosur lost in the quarterfinals but this time she was shocked by Roberta Vinci in straight sets.[35]

She then left to the United States where she played at the Indian Wells tournament, where she opened her in the second round after receiving a bye. In the second round she defeated young American wilcard Madison Keys.[36] Stosur then struggled past 32nd seed Peng Shuai in three sets.[37] into the fourth round where she recovered from a set down to defeat 24th seed Mona Barthel.[38] In the final game of the fourth round she injured her right calf and was forced to forfeit the quarterfinal match against Angelique Kerber.[39] The injury forced Stosur to pull out of the Miami Masters tournament.[40] Stosur successfully returned to the court at the Family Circle Cup where the third seed opened her campaign in the second round with a straight sets win over Marina Erakovic.[41][42] During her third round match Stosur was forced to retire with her recurring calf injury against qualifier Eugenie Bouchard.[43]

Stosur recovered to play in the Fed Cup World Group Play-offs against Switzerland. She played in both singles rubbers against Stefanie Vögele and Romina Oprandi, winning both matches in straight sets and ensuring that Australia play in the 2014 Fed Cup World Group.[44] Following the Fed Cup victory, Stosur recorded two first round losses at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart where she was the sixth seed against Jelena Janković.[45] and at the Mutua Madrid Open where she was seeded ninth to Carla Suárez Navarro.[46] Following the disappointing loss in Madrid Stosur moved on to the Italian Open and rebounded with her first win of the European clay season on her third attempt, comfortably defeating Hsieh Su-wei.[47] She then won her second round match over Peng Shuai in straight sets.[48] She then reached the quarter-finals in Rome with a three-set win over Petra Kvitová, the first time in Stosur's career she had beaten Kvitová.[49] Stosur suffered her eighth straight loss to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals losing in three sets.[50]

At the 2013 French Open, Stosur won her opening match against Kimiko Date-Krumm after waiting 2½ hours to play because of rain. She then quickly won the opening first nine games and smashed 42-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm in two sets.[51] Stosur then defeated Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets.[52][53] Stosur then played 18th seed and in-form Serbian Jelena Janković in the third round. After winning the first set, Stosur lost the match in a tight battle. She was unable to defend her semifinal ranking points of 2012, and slipped out of the world's top 10.[54][55] At Wimbledon, she reached the third round for only the second time in her career after defeating lucky loser Anna Karolína Schmiedlová and Olga Puchkova both in straight sets.[56][57] In the third round she lost to eventual finalist Sabine Lisicki in three sets.[58] Stosur was stunned in the second round of the 2013 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford by Olga Govortsova.[59] Stosur accepted a last minute wilcard into the 2013 Southern California Open in Carlsbad where she opened with a win over Varvara Lepchenko.[60] She then made her way through to the final defeating Sesil Karatantcheva in the second round, causing an upset to defeat Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals and recovering from 0–4 in the first set to defeat Virginie Razzano in the semi-finals.[61][62] Stosur went on to play Victoria Azarenka in the final. She previously had an 0–8 record against Azarenka. Stosur stunned Azarenka by cruising past her in straight sets. This was Stosur's first WTA title since her win at the 2011 US Open.[63][64]

Stosur at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships.

At the US Open, the 11th seeded Stosur was stunned by the 296th-ranked American qualifier Victoria Duval in the first round going down in three sets.[65] The loss meant Stosur would drop out of the top fifteen in the world rankings and also meant that in 2013 she failed to reach the fourth round in any Grand Slams.

Stosur bounced back from the US Open disappointment and opened her campaign at the 2013 Toray Pan Pacific Open with a come from behind victory over Alizé Cornet in three sets.[66][67] She then defeated 42 year old home favourite Kimiko Date-Krumm.[68] Stosur lost in the third round to Lucie Šafářová.[69][70] Stosur moved onto the China Open in Beijing where she again had to face Šafářová. This time was in the first round and Stosur suffered a similar result going down in straight sets.[71] Stosur played her final tournament in Asia at the 2013 HP Open in Osaka. As the third seed she opened the tournament with a win over Johanna Larsson and then defeated current junior world number one Belinda Bencic.[72][73] After racing through the first set, Stosur overcame the loss of the second set to defeat Misaki Doi in the quarterfinals.[74] Stosur swept past American teenager Madison Keys and into the final after a powerful performance in which she held all of her service games and gave Keys barely a chance of progressing in her first WTA semi-final, winning in just over an hour.[75] Stosur moved on to play Eugenie Bouchard in the final, taking 2 hours and 13 minutes to capture her 5th career title, coming from a set down to win. This was the second time she had won in Osaka.[76][77] She then reached the final of the 2013 Kremlin Cup after defeating Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals. She lost to Simona Halep in the final. At the end of the season Stosur parted company with her coach David Taylor and employed Miles Maclagan who had previously worked with Andy Murray and Laura Robson.[78]

2014: Second Wimbledon mixed doubles title

Stosur started her 2014 season at the Hopman Cup partnering Bernard Tomic.[79][80] Stosur lost to Agnieszka Radwańska, Eugenie Bouchard and Flavia Pennetta in all three of her singles matches and subsequently the Australian pair did not qualify for the final.[81] Stosur then played at the Hobart International, opting not to play at the Apia International for the first time in five years. Stosur was the top seed at the tournament.[82] Stosur defeated Madison Brengle, Kristina Mladenovic and eight seed Bojana Jovanovski en route to the semi-finals, saving match point against Mladenovic.[83] Stosur lost to Klára Zakopalová in the semi-finals in straight sets. Stosur next played at the Australian Open. In the first round, Stosur played Klára Zakopalová, having played Zakopalová just three days prior; Stosur reversed the result winning in straight sets.[84] In the second round, Stosur defeated Apia International champion Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets.[85] Stosur lost to 14th seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round despite being a set up. Ivanovic would then go on to make the quarterfinals, defeating World No. 1 Serena Williams in the following round.[86][87] Stosur then headed to Hobart to compete in 2014 Fed Cup World Group. Stosur led Australia to a 4–0 victory against Russia. Stosur won the second and third singles rubbers in straight sets over Veronika Kudermetova and Victoria Kan.[88][89]

Stosur then competed at the Qatar Open where she is seeded 12th. She won her first round over Marina Erakovic in straight sets.[90] She lost to Jana Čepelová in the second round.[91] Stosur then lost in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships against qualifier Annika Beck in three sets.[92] Stosur then competed at the BNP Paribas Open where after receiving a first round bye, she defeated Francesca Schiavone in straight sets.[93] However she lost to Flavia Pennetta in the third round. This was Stosur's fifth WTA singles loss to Pennetta in her career.[94] Stosur dropped to World No. 20 after the tournament. Stosur was the 16th seed at the Miami Masters where she received a first round bye. She then defeated qualifier Kiki Bertens in straight sets.But lost to Casie Vandewegh in the next round.At the Mutua Madrid Open she lost to the eventual champion Maria Sharapova in straight sets. At the Rome Masters Stosur for first time lost to Li na in straight sets managing to win only 4 games in the full match and allowing Li Na to pass to quarterfinals very comfortably. At the French Open, Stosur was leading by a set and 4–3 in the second one but lost the control of the match and went on to lose all the games there after against the eventual champion Maria Sharapova.[95]

Ten days before the 2014 Wimbledon, Stosur ended her coaching relationship with Maclagan, citing that she felt "change was needed".[96][97] Stosur was defeated during the first round of Wimbledon 2014 by Yanina Wickmayer, losing in straight sets. But in mixed doubles she partnered with Nenad Zimonjić and won the title. En route to the final, they lost only one set in the 3rd round and in the final they beat Chan and Mirnyi in two sets. Stosur then next travelled to Stanford where she was drawn against qualifier Naomi Osaka in the first round. The match was a tough battle but her opponent prevailed in the end with Stosur losing. Stosur's next tournament was at The Rogers Cup. In the 1st round Stosur was drawn against yet another qualifier Mónica Puig. Stosur managed to defeat her opponent in straight sets. In the second round she was drawn against top seed Serena Williams and lost in two sets.

2015: 500th career win

Her first tournament in 2015 was Brisbane International, where she lost in the first round to Varvara Lepchenko despite leading 5-1 in the final set. In Sydney she reached the second round, where she lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. Stosur then played at the Australian Open as the 20th seed. She defeated Monica Niculescu in straight sets before losing in the second round to Coco Vandeweghe.

In February, Stosur represented Australia in the Fed Cup against Germany. She lost both her matches against Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber. Stosur next played at the Dubai where she lost in the second round to the third seed Caroline Wozniacki despite winning the first set. Her next tournament was the Doha where she was defeated by the eventual champion Lucie Šafářová in the first round. In Indian Wells Stosur reached the third round, where she lost to Flavia Pennetta. She had better luck in the Doubles partnering Lisa Raymond, they reached the semifinal before losing to the pairing of Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza. Stosur next played at the Miami where she also lost in the third round to Venus Williams.

Stosur began her clay court season by travelling to Charleston as the 9th seed where she lost in the second round to Lara Arruabarrena. Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory in Madrid where she defeated the World number 12 and 12th seed Angelique Kerber in the first round. She then played Kaia Kanepi and won in straight sets. She then lost in a close encounter to eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova. Stosur next played at the Italian Open but lost in the first round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Stosur was awarded a wildcard at the Internationaux de Strasbourg and was the 3rd seed. She crushed defending champion Mónica Puig in straight sets. Stosur then received a walkover against Lesia Tsurenko and defeated fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanović and Sloane Stephens to reach her first final of 2015. In the final, she faced Kristina Mladenovic of France and came from a set down to record a victory, and win her seventh title on the WTA tour, her first on red clay. Stosur then played at the French Open as the 26th seed. She defeated Madison Brengle and Amandine Hesse before losing to defending champion Maria Sharapova in the third round.[98]

Stosur started her grass court season at Eastbourne where she was the 16th seed and therefore received a bye to the 2nd round. She lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. Stosur then played at Wimbledon where she defeated Danka Kovinić and Urszula Radwańska to equal her best showing at Wimbledon. In the third round she lost to Coco Vandeweghe in two sets. She also contested the Women's Doubles partnering Daniela Hantuchová where they fell in the second round to Casey Dellacqua/Yaroslava Shvedova.

Stosur returned to clay courts, playing at the Swedish Open as the second seed. She was defeated in the second round by Lara Arruabarrena. Stosur then played at the 2015 Gastein Ladies as the second seed where she won her second title of 2015. Stosur defeated Sevastova, Koukalová, Schmiedlová and Karin Knapp in the final.

Stosur then started her hard court season in Washington where she reached the semi-finals after defeating Mladenovic, Falconi and Niculescu before losing to eventual champion Sloane Stephens. Stosur then lost in the first round to Daria Gavrilova at the Rogers Cup. Following this, she again lost in the first round but this time to Tímea Babos at the Western & Southern Open. Stosur then played at the 2015 US Open and reached the fourth round at the US Open for the first time since 2012. In the first round she got revenge on Tímea Babos, to whom she lost the previous week. She backed this up with wins over Evgeniya Rodina and 16th seeded Sara Errani. She then lost to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta.

Apparel and equipment

Stosur wears ASICS clothing and uses Babolat racquets, she also wears Oakley eyewear.

Rivalries

Stosur vs. Serena Williams

Currently, Williams leads 8–3 in head-to-head matches. Their first match occurred during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the second round when Williams was ranked world no. 4, with Williams winning 6–2, 6–0. Since then, both players have been equally matched. Both players even had match points against each other, but lost the match in the end. Examples of this include Stosur having four match points at the 2009 Medibank International, but eventually losing. Another example was the 2010 French Open where Williams had a match point, but Stosur won. The only time they didn't play a complete match was at the 2011 Western and Southern Group Open in the second round where Williams withdrew from the match due to a toe injury. They met in the 2011 US Open final where Stosur prevailed 6–2, 6–3, despite Serena's status as a heavy favourite. Serena avenged the defeat at the 2012 Miami Masters, where Williams defeated Stosur 7–5, 6–3. They next met a week later at the 2012 Family Circle Cup where Williams again defeated Stosur 6–1, 6–1.

Some of these matches were marked by controversy. During the 2011 US Open Final Williams shouted 'C'mon!' during a crucial point in the match before Stosur had a chance to hit the ball and Williams was docked the point which resulted in Williams losing the game and having her serve broken by Stosur.

Stosur vs. Schiavone

Currently, Stosur leads 9–4 in head-to-head matches. Their major matches include the 2009 final of HP Open in Osaka where Stosur lifted her first WTA singles title, and the 2010 French Open final where both players reached their first ever grand slam final, but with Schiavone coming out on top despite Stosur being the heavy favorite to win the championship.

Stosur vs. Zvonareva

Currently, Stosur leads 8–2 in their head-to-head matches. In their first two meetings, Zvonareva won both of those matches. After that, Stosur has won the last eight matches, including the 2010 Family Circle Cup final and the 2011 US Open quarterfinal match.

Stosur vs. Sharapova

Currently, Maria Sharapova leads 15–2 in their head-to-head matches. Sharapova won their first 9 meetings. In their most recent meeting at the French Open, on 1 June 2014, Stosur started strong but eventually succumbed to Sharapova 6–3, 4–6, 0–6.

Stosur vs. Li

Stosur leads 6-1 in head-to-head matches. Stosur won the first six meetings, five of them being in straight sets, including an overwhelming 6-1, 6-0 victory at the WTA Championships in 2011.

Stosur vs. Šafářová

Šafářová leads their Head-to-head 10–3. Their first meeting was in Charleston, when Šafářová won 5–7, 6–1, 6–4. After next two Šafářová´s wins, Stosur won their fourth match in Miami and then again in Dubai. After that Šafářová won two-times in two tie-breaks, in Montreal and in Ostrava during Fed Cup 2013 competition. Šafářová beat Stosur even three-times in 2013, in Eastbourne, Tokyo in the third round and next week in Beijing in the first round. In 2014 they met in Charleston 3rd round, where Šafářová won again, but in 2015 Stosur Won in Sydney in three sets, but Šafářová got revenge in Doha.

Playing style

General
An accomplished doubles player, Stosur in her early years developed a serve and volley style of play but as the years progressed, she started to feel more comfortable hitting on the baseline and coming to the net less often. Although she is known for being a doubles specialist and having great volleys and drop-shots while playing doubles, in her singles matches, Stosur has a tendency to miss-hit these shots. Her right-handed forehand ground-strokes, hit with heavy top-spin, are considered her best, as evidenced by her often choosing to hit inside-out forehands. She can hit forehand winners from any side of the court, and her motion when hitting her forehands makes it hard for her opponents to guess where she will hit it to. Accordingly, many players attack her backhand side, which was considered a weakness of her game; however in 2010, Stosur adopted Pat Rafter's signature backhand slice, to add to her game and help her set up points. She has also improved on her two-handed backhand generating winners on occasion, particularly her backhand down the line. Stosur is also noted for her athleticism and after bouncing back from a career-threatening Lyme Disease, she has become one of the fittest players on tour.

Serve
Because of its power, kick and variety, Stosur's serve is widely considered one of the best on the women's tour. Her first serve, however erratic, regularly reaches more than 190 km/h (118 mph). Her second, a high bouncing kick serve, is highly rated as being the best second serve in the women's game by media and players alike, and was thought to play a key role in her French Open success in 2009 and 2010. One thing that Stosur has changed in her game, thanks to coach David Taylor, is the fact that her serve has been less predictable with Stosur sometimes even using her kick serve as first serves. Her good serving motion has helped her overhead smashes and she rarely misses those shots.

Surface
Her favourite surface is hard court. Stosur has also mentioned that her least favourite surface is grass and this is mostly because her biggest weapons (top-spin forehand & kick-serve) are not very effective on this surface. Her performances at Wimbledon have reflected this, as she has only advanced beyond the second round three times (2009, 2013 and 2015) on the lone grass-court Grand Slam event.

Weakness
In her earlier years on the WTA tour, Stosur's real weakness was her inability to handle the pressure at major matches and being poor at closing out matches. In her first four WTA tour finals, she won the first set only to lose the match. On her off-days, she can hit over 50 unforced errors. She has shown great improvement in these areas, and the weaknesses are seen less frequently now, as evidenced by her calm dispatch of the four-time Roland Garros champion and former World No. 1 Justine Henin; one time Roland Garros champion and the then-World No. 1 Serena Williams; and former World No. 1 Jelena Janković, in the 4th round, quarter-final and semi-final at the 2010 Roland Garros respectively.

Career statistics

Grand Slam

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score Ref
Runner-up2010French OpenClayItaly Francesca Schiavone 4–6, 6–7(2–7)[99]
Winner2011US OpenHardUnited States Serena Williams6–2, 6–3[17]

Doubles: 7 (2 titles, 5 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 2005[100] US Open Hard United States Lisa Raymond Russia Elena Dementieva
Italy Flavia Pennetta 		6–2, 5–7, 6–3
Runner-up 2006[101] Australian Open Hard United States Lisa Raymond China Yan Zi
China Zheng Jie 		6–2, 6–7(7–9), 3–6
Winner 2006[102] French Open Clay United States Lisa Raymond Slovakia Daniela Hantuchová
Japan Ai Sugiyama 		6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 2008[103] Wimbledon Grass United States Lisa Raymond United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams 		2–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2008[104] US Open Hard United States Lisa Raymond Zimbabwe Cara Black
United States Liezel Huber 		3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Runner-up 2009[105] Wimbledon Grass Australia Rennae Stubbs United States Serena Williams
United States Venus Williams		 6–7(4–7), 4–6
Runner-up 2011 Wimbledon Grass Germany Sabine Lisicki Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik		 3–6, 1–6

Mixed Doubles: 3 (3 titles)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 2005[106] Australian Open Hard Australia Scott Draper South Africa Liezel Huber
Zimbabwe Kevin Ullyett 		6–2, 2–6, 7–6(8–6)
Winner 2008[107] Wimbledon Grass United States Bob Bryan Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
United States Mike Bryan 		7–5, 6–4
Winner 2014 Wimbledon Grass Serbia Nenad Zimonjić Belarus Max Mirnyi
Chinese Taipei Chan Hao-ching 		6–4, 6–2

Singles performance

Tournament200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open 1R 3R 2R 1R 4R 2R A 3R 4R 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R 1R 18–14
French Open A A 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R SF F 3R SF 3R 4R 3R 29–12
Wimbledon A 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R 3R 10–13
US Open A A 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R QF W QF 1R 2R 4R 21–11
Win–Loss 0–1 2–2 2–4 1–4 4–4 4–4 2–3 10–4 13–4 11–3 10–4 5–4 6–4 8–4 0–1 78–50

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament20022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open 1R 1R 2R 2R F SF A 3R 1R A A 2R 2R 3R 17–11
French Open A A 3R 3R W SF 3R 3R 3R A 1R 3R 1R 3R 24–10
Wimbledon A 2R 2R SF 3R SF F F 3R F 2R 1R 3R 2R 32–12
US Open A 2R 3R W SF 3R F SF A 1R A 2R A 1R 25–8
Win–Loss 0–1 2–3 6–4 13–3 17–3 14–4 12–3 13–4 4–3 5–2 1–2 4–4 1–2 5–4 92–38

References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samantha Stosur.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Argentina Paola Suárez &
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual		 WTA Doubles Team of the Year
(with United States Lisa Raymond)
2005, 2006 		Succeeded by
Zimbabwe Cara Black &
United States Liezel Huber
Preceded by
Argentina Paola Suárez &
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual		 ITF Doubles Champions
(with United States Lisa Raymond)
2005, 2006 		Succeeded by
Zimbabwe Cara Black &
United States Liezel Huber
Preceded by
Russia Elena Dementieva		 WTA Diamond Aces
2010 		Succeeded by
Denmark Caroline Wozniacki
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