Early life
Stosur was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel. She is of Polish descent through her grandfather. When she was six the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, and the family decided to move to Adelaide. There she started playing tennis, when she was given a racket 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. Stosur attended Helensvale State High School on the Northern Gold Coast. She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.
At 14 she joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters and in 2001, when she was 16, Stosur joined the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program.
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.
Samantha Stosur in 2005
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.
Samantha Stosur in 2006
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 Sydney 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 at the Australian Open, 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.
Samantha Stosur in 2007
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 Rome, she defeated 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 would only after months be 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 US hardcourt circuit, and lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, where she was seeded 29th, to the then ranked no. 96 Alizé Cornet of France. Stosur did not play any more tournaments in 2007.
Samantha Stosur in 2008
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 Lisa 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 no. 4 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.
Samantha Stosur in 2009
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 no. 1 seed Serena Williams, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5. 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 lost in the third round to world no. 4 Elena Dementieva, 7–6, 6–4. She also won through to the third round in doubles, partnering Stubbs, defeating the Radwańska sisters 6–1, 6–4. However, they then lost to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams, 4-6, 2-6.
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 was defeated in the second round by Zheng Jie. 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, 4-6, 4-6.
In Indian Wells, Stosur was eliminated in the second round by Agnieszka Radwańska 6-3, 3-6, 5-7. In doubles, Stosur lost to Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka in the second round 2-6, 6-3, 7-10. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Stosur defeated no. 2 seed Dinara Safina in the third round, 6–1, 6–4. Safina would have reached the no. 1 ranking had she won the match. She lost to Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 0-6. She reached the same round in doubles, losing to Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Patty Schnyder, 7-6, 2-6, 8-10. Due to her results, Stosur's singles ranking rose from 43 to 31.
At the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Stosur was eliminated in the first round by no. 2 seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6. She then played for the Australian Fed Cup team in Mildura, Australia against Switzerland in their World Group II playoff on 25–26 April. 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.
On to 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 no.10 seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the second round 6-1, 2-6, 6-7. Stosur and Stubbs made it to the semifinals, but were defeated by the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 5-7, 6-7.
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, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round and Yanina Wickmayer, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, in the second. She then beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva in the third round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1, and Virginie Razzano of France, 6–1, 6–2, for a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea, 6–1, 6–3, and advanced to her first ever Grand Slam semifinal against no. 7 seed and eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. After losing the first set 4–6, Stosur fought back a break of serve to win the second set 7–6, after trailing 2–5 in the tiebreaker, but lost in the final set 3–6. This made her the lowest seed in the tournament to reach the furthest. With this result, Stosur cracked the top 20 on the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.
Stosur started the grass season playing at the AEGON International. She lost in the second round to sixth seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 7–5, 1–6. Having beaten the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, she was a runner-up in the doubles tournament, losing the final to Ai Sugiyama and Akgul Amanmuradova.
As the 18th seed at Wimbledon, Stosur lost in the third to 13th seed Ana Ivanović, 5-7, 2-6. In ladies' doubles, Stosur reached her second consecutive final, this time partnering Rennae Stubbs. The third seeds beat second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in three sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 in the semifinals, but were defeated in the final by fourth seeds Venus and Serena Williams in straight sets, 6-7, 4-7. Stosur was also defending the mixed doubles title together with Bob Bryan, but the second seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals by 9th seeds and eventual champions Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Mark Knowles.
Stosur started the US Open Series in Stanford, making it into make the semifinals, where she lost to eighth seed Marion Bartoli.
Stosur then competed at the LA Women's Tennis Championships as the no. 13 seed. She made it to her fifth WTA Tour final, where she lost to no. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta. Her next tournament was Toronto, where she defeated no. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, before being eliminated by 4th seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals 6–7, 6–1, 6–3. At the same tournament, Stosur and Stubbs defeated the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, 3–6, 6–3, [10–7], but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez, 6-2, 5-7, [9-11], in the final.
Samantha Stosur in 2010
After her success in 2009, Stosur decided to focus on singles and take part in doubles less. Her partnership with Rennae Stubbs ended, and she partnered with Nadia Petrova; she took part in only the major tournaments in hopes of reaching the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
Alongside Lleyton Hewitt, Stosur represented Australia at the 2010 Hopman Cup. Rhw Australiana 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, 5-7, 1-6. The next tie was against the USA, where Stosur beat Melanie Oudin in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4. Hewitt also won his singles match against John Isner, sealing the tie. In mixed doubles, Hewitt-Stosur lost 6-2, 1-6, 5-10. 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. Stosur lost to Flavia Pennetta,3-6, 1-6, 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, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–1, 6–3. Stosur and Rennae Stubbs won their doubles match, 6–4, 6–2, gifting Australia a 3–2 win in the tie.
Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded ninth. Stosur was stunned in the opening round, 6-3, 2-6, 6-7, at the hands of veteran Tathiana Garbin. She had better success in the doubles partnering Nadia 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, 6–7, 7–5, [11–9].
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, 6–2, 7–6, to move through to her first semifinal at the tournament, where she lost to eventual champion Jelena Janković, 2-6, 4-6, 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 Nadia Petrova. They had a comfortable route to the final, dropping only one set, where they lost 4-6, 6-2, [5-10] to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik
Stosur's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she was seeded ninth. Due to her seeding, Stosur received a bye in the first round. She lost in the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, 3-6, 5-7. 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 3-6, 6-4, [7-10] to Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.
Stosur began her clay season at the Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded fourth. In the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6–0, 6–3, 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 first and only Australian women to have won this title. In doubles, Stosur and her partner Nadia Petrova were the fourth seeds. They defeated Irina Pavlovic and Laura Thorpe in the first round, 6–4, 6–4, then defeated Vania King and Michaëlla Krajicek in the second round 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. 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. 6-7, 5-7, in a disappointing display, despite leading the first set 3–0 and having a chance to serve for that set at 5–3. With her semifinals appearance in the AEGON International 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 2010 Wimbledon Championships. As the sixth seed, Stosur fell in the first round to Kaia Kanepi, 4–6, 4–6, after saving three match points. As the 2010 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 Rennae Stubbs. She played with her 2010 partner Nadia Petrova as the third seeds, but lost in the third round to eventual champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, 4-6, 4-6. 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, 6–1, 6–4. They then faced the Belgium duo Xavier Malisse and Kim Clijsters, but lost 4-6, 6-7.
Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, where she was the first seed, but lost in a semifinal match-up with Victoria Azarenka, 2–6, 3–6. Stosur then attempted to defend her title at the 2010 HP Open as top seed, her only WTA International tournament of the year. She lost against Kimiko Date Krumm in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 3-6, 6-7, 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, 6–4, 6–4, coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the first set. Her next opponent was world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Stosur continued her dominant showing, recording a 6–4, 6–3 win to secure her spot in the semifinals. She then fell to Elena Dementieva, 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, 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 Kim Clijsters in the semifinals.
Stosur ended her year at world no. 6 with 4,982 ranking points, just behind world no. 5 Venus Williams with 4,985 ranking points. In addition, Stosur was the only player in 2010 to defeat both current world no. 1 players, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. She also had the best percentage of points scored on second serve amongst her peers.
Samantha Stosur in 2011
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, 6-7, 3-6. 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, 6–7, 4–6. In Miami, Stosur was seeded fourth, but was defeated in the fourth round by 16th seed and former no. 1 Maria Sharapova, 4-6, 1-6.
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, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. 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, 6–1, 7–6.
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, 6–7, 3–6. She then competed in Rome. The sixth-seeded Stosur reached the final, but suffered a straight-set 2–6, 4–6 defeat to seventh seed Sharapova.
Stosur was seeded eighth at the 2011 French Open, yet was upset by Gisela Dulko, 6-4, 1-6, 3-6, in the third round. This loss meant that Stosur's ranking dropped to world no. 10.
Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 AEGON International as seventh seed. Stosur 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, 3-6, 1-6.
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, 3-6, 5-7. However, Stosur bounced back at the Rogers Cup in Toronto by reaching the final, having defeated Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska along the way. Stosur was defeated by Serena Williams in the final, 4-6, 2-6. She then competed in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou, 6–3, 6–1, in the first round. She would then face Serena Williams for the second week in a row in the second round. However, Williams withdrew due to a toe injury, which meant a walkover for Stosur. In the third round, she defeated fifth seed Li Na for the second time in two weeks in three sets, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4. She then faced Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets, 3-6, 2-6.
Playing style
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 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. Because of this, 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 and has even generated winners on occasion. Stosur is also noted for her athleticism and after bouncing back from a career-threatening Lyme's Disease, she has became one of the fittest players on tour.
Serve
Due to its power, kick and variety, Stosur's serve is widely considered as one of the best on the women's tour. Her first serve, however erratic, reaches more than 118 mph (190 km/h) on a regular basis. 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 her least favourite surface is grass and this is mostly due to the fact that 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 gone past the second round once 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 for not being good at closing out matches. In her first four WTA tour finals, she won the first set only to eventually lose the match. On her off-days, she is susceptible to hitting over 50 unforced errors. She has shown great improvement in these areas, and these weaknesses are seen less frequently in her matches now, as exemplified in 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-current 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. Despite this, her inability to handle pressure under major matches was evident in the final against Francesca Schiavone, losing in straight sets and hitting many errors despite being the clear favourite to take the title.
All about: Novak Djokovic, Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams, Anna Kournikova, U.S.open tennis, Maria Sharapova
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