Samantha Stosur
Encyclopedia
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur (ˈstoʊzər , born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open
singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open
. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No. 1 on the WTA Tour
in doubles with Lisa Raymond
from the United States.
, 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 moved to Adelaide
. 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. 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 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.
. While Taylor is well-known in the tennis circle as the Fed Cup Captain for Australia, little is known about Morrow. Commentators such as Sam Smith from Eurosport UK have attributed Stosur's high level of fitness to Morrow, stating that both Taylor and Morrow have an equal part to play in Stosur's 2011 success at the US Open. Morrow, who is a retired Olympic softball player, despite having been in Stosur's entourage since early 2009, has only been recently identified by Eurosport's Sam Smith as Stosur's personal trainer.
Stosur is single and is good friends with tennis players Gigi Fernandez
, Rennae Stubbs
and Lisa Raymond
.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Rennae Stubbs
and Robert Lindstedt
. Raymond and Stosur were runners-up at 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 the WTA
singles rankings, 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 best 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.
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 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.
With these results, Stosur improved her ranking to a career-high no. 15 in singles just in time for the US Open
, where she was seeded accordingly. She lost to American Vania King
in the second round, 5–7, 6–4–6. Stosur entered the doubles event
with compatriot Rennae Stubbs
. As the third seeds, they made the semifinals without dropping a set, where they faced no. 1 seeds Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
. They won the first set, but lost the next two after a two-day rain interruption, 7–5, 3–6, 1–6.
At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
, Stosur was defeated by Maria Sharapova
in the second round, 0–6, 1–6. Seeded 15th at the China Open
, Stosur lost a three-setter to Alizé Cornet
. Stosur then played in Osaka
as the third seed. Stosur captured her first-ever title on the WTA tour by beating Francesca Schiavone
in the finals, 7–5, 6–1, 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 Rennae Stubbs
. They lost a hard-fought semifinals match against no. 1 seeds Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
, 6–3, 6–7 8–10.
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, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, but lost her second to María José Martínez Sánchez
, 6–7, 5–7. This loss cost her the semifinals spot, as Martínez Sánchez won both her round-robin matches.
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.
Stosur was guaranteed a seeding of 13 for the 2010 Australian Open
. She lost against world number 1 and defending champion Serena Williams
, 4–6, 2–6. 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
, 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 only Australian woman to have won this title.
Then, 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 6–3, 6–0 win from Stosur against Mariya Koryttseva
, and Anastasia Rodionova's win over Alona Bondarenko, 0–6, 6–3, 7–5. Stosur then secured victory for Australia with a 7–6, 6–3 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, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6. 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 Nadia 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 in to 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 Justine 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. She was upset by Italian Francesca Schiavone
, 4–6, 6–7.
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.
She then participated in the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. As the second seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta
, 4–6, 3–6.
Due to a shoulder injury, she withdrew from her next two events;
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. By missing both Premier 5 tournaments, Stosur fell to no. 6, since Kim Clijsters won the Cincinnati Masters tournament.
After taking time off to recover from her injury, Stosur took part in the 2010 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 Nadia Petrova
, 1–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals.
At the 2010 US Open
Stosur was seeded fifth. In her first quarterfinal at the US Open, she was up a break in the third set, before falling to defending champion and second seed Kim Clijsters
, 4–6, 7–5, 3–6. Stosur announced that she would not take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Instead, Stosur 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, 6–2, 6–7, 5–7. 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
.
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.
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 because of 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.
Stosur was seeded ninth at the US Open
, and she drew Sofia Arvidsson
in the first round and defeated her, 6–2, 6–3. In the second round, she defeated American Coco Vandeweghe
, 6–3, 6–4. The third round was one of Stosur's hardest matches against Nadia Petrova
, finally prevailing 7–6, 6–7, 7–5 after a 3 hour 16 minute battle. She played Maria Kirilenko
in the fourth round and won 6–2, 6–715–17, 6–3. The second set tiebreak score of 15–17 was the longest in any Major in the history of women's tennis. She then beat second seed Vera Zvonareva
, 6–3, 6–3, to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Stosur followed this milestone with a 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 win over German player Angelique Kerber
to reach her first US Open singles final, where she defeated three-time champion Serena Williams
, 6–2, 6–3, for her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, the first by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley
won Wimbledon
in 1980.
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 2011 HP Open
where she was defeated by second seed, Marion Bartoli
, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Along the way she defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, Misaki Doi
, 6–2, 6–4, seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers
, 6–2, 6–3 and Zheng Jie
, 7–6(5), 3–6, 6–3.
Stosur was placed in the white group for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships
. Stosur's first match was against second seed Maria Sharapova
, winning the match, 6-1, 7-5. 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
6-2, 6-2. This was her fifth loss against Azarenka and has yet to win a single set from Azarenka. Stosur thrashed fifth seed Li Na
6-1, 6-0 in her final round robin match to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year, where she versed maroon group winner, Petra Kvitova
for a spot in the final. She lost the match 5-7 6-3 6-3, despite being 7-5 1-0 up with a break point to go 2-0. Despite the loss, this was the first time Stosur won a set against Kvitova. Kvitova 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.
Stosur will begin her next season in her home state at Brisbane, and at Sydney before playing the 2012 Australian Open.
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 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
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, 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 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 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 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-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.
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No. 1 on the WTA Tour
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
in doubles with Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
from the United States.
Early life
Stosur was born in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel. She is of Polish descent
Polish Australian
Poland has been a source country of immigrants to Australia, in particular in the post-war period. Immigration from Poland has long tapered off, with Polish Australian population now part of the mainstream Australian community.-Demography:...
through her grandfather. When she was six, the family house and business on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
was destroyed by a flood, and the family moved to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. 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. Stosur attended Helensvale State High School
Helensvale State High School
Helensvale State High School is a public secondary school located in the northern suburb of Helensvale on the Gold Coast, Queensland Australia. It is situated on the corner of Discovery Drive and Helensvale Road. The school first opened in 1990 with Rod Cassidy as the foundation principal...
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
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia.
At the age of 14, Stosur joined the Queensland Academy of Sport
Queensland Academy of Sport
The Queensland Academy of Sport is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland...
(QAS) under Geoff Masters
Geoff Masters
Geoff Masters is a former Australian tennis player.-Tennis tour career:In 1977 Masters and Ross Case won the doubles in Wimbledon.-Doubles titles :-Post-tennis playing career:...
. In 2001, when she was 16, she joined the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...
tennis program.
Personal life
Stosur travels with a small entourage comprising Coach Dave Taylor and Personal Trainer Simmone MorrowSimmone Morrow
Simmone Morrow is a softball player from Australia, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She plays in the outfield.-External links:*...
. While Taylor is well-known in the tennis circle as the Fed Cup Captain for Australia, little is known about Morrow. Commentators such as Sam Smith from Eurosport UK have attributed Stosur's high level of fitness to Morrow, stating that both Taylor and Morrow have an equal part to play in Stosur's 2011 success at the US Open. Morrow, who is a retired Olympic softball player, despite having been in Stosur's entourage since early 2009, has only been recently identified by Eurosport's Sam Smith as Stosur's personal trainer.
Stosur is single and is good friends with tennis players Gigi Fernandez
Gigi Fernández
Beatriz "Gigi" Fernández is a former professional tennis player, the first female athlete from her native Puerto Rico to turn professional, the first Puerto Rican woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal and the first to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.Fernandez won 17 Grand...
, Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
and Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
.
Early career
Stosur first played professional tennis in 1999 on the ITFInternational Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
circuit. She debuted on the Women's Tennis Association
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
tour in 2000, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. In 2001 she won four straight ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
titles. In 2002 she lost in the first round at the Gold Coast event.
In 2003, Stosur won her first WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
singles matches, reaching the third round of the Australian Open. She lost in the third round to no. 7 seed, Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
. She also qualified for a WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
event in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
In 2004, Stosur reached the semifinals of the Gold Coast event, before falling to Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
. The next week, she reached the second round of the WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
tournament in Hobart
Moorilla Hobart International
The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. Held since 1994, it forms a part of the Women's Tennis Association Tour and is classed as an International tournament...
, then the second round of the Australian Open. She later qualified for WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
events in Acapulco
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is a tennis tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico. It is an event on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour...
, Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
, Vienna and Birmingham
DFS Classic
The AEGON Classic, formerly known as the DFS Classic, is an International series tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts...
. Stosur competed at the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
, where she lost in the first round. She continued to play WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
qualifying events, qualifying for the Japan Open
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...
and Bali in the autumn of 2004. At the end of the 2004 season, Stosur reached the doubles final in Québec City
Bell Challenge
The Bell Challenge is a WTA Tour Tier III tennis tournament held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada since 1993. The tournament is played on indoor hardcourts....
, partnered with Els Callens
Els Callens
Els Callens was a professional female tennis player from Belgium. She became a pro in January 1990.Her biggest achievement came in 2000 during the Summer Olympics in Sydney where she won the bronze medal in doubles, partnering Dominique Van Roost-Monami.She retired on Wednesday 26 October 2005...
from Belgium.
2005
In 2005 Stosur reached her first WTAWomen's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
tour final at her home event in Gold Coast, losing to Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
. She was runner-up at the Sydney event, defeating by walkover the world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in the quarterfinal and Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the semifinal, before losing to fellow Australian Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
, and won her first doubles title partnering Australian Bryanne Stewart
Bryanne Stewart
Bryanne Stewart is a professional tennis player from Australia. In her career, she has been World Number 18 for doubles, winning a total of three titles including one in 2007...
at the same tournament. Stosur lost to world no. 2 Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in the first round of the Australian Open
2005 Australian Open
The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...
, but won the mixed doubles title with Scott Draper
Scott Draper
-Personal life:Draper was born in Queensland, Australia. His first wife, Kellie, died in 1999 from cystic fibrosis. He is now married to Jessica and they have two children, a son Jayden Scott Draper and a daughter, Jaimie Draper .-Tennis career:...
over Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
and Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett
Kevin Ullyett is a former professional tennis player from Zimbabwe. His primary success on the tour has been in men's doubles. He has won 24 doubles titles, including the 2001 US Open and the 2005 Australian Open, both with Wayne Black...
.
In July, she teamed up with American Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
, winning seven WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
doubles titles before the end of the year, including the U.S. Open
2005 U.S. Open - Women's Doubles
Results of the 2005 US Open women's doubles tournament.-Quarterfinal:-Semifinal:-Final:- References :*...
, the Kremlin Cup
2005 Kremlin Cup
The 2006 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the International Series of the 2005 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2005 WTA Tour. It took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from October...
, and the WTA Tour Championships
2005 WTA Tour Championships
The 2005 Sony Ericsson Championships were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States from 8 November to 13 November 2005.-Singles: Amélie Mauresmo def. Mary Pierce, 5–7, 7–6, 6–4-Doubles:...
. Stosur finished the year ranked no. 46 in singles and no. 2 in doubles.
2006
In 2006 Stosur represented Australia alongside Todd ReidTodd Reid
Todd Reid is an Australian tennis professional. He peaked in the Men's Tour in September 2004, reaching a highest singles ranking of 105...
at the Hopman Cup
2006 Hopman Cup
-Standings:-United States vs. Serbia and Montenegro:-Serbia and Montenegro vs. Sweden:-United States vs. Russia:-Russia vs. Sweden:-Serbia and Montenegro vs. Russia:-Sweden vs. United States:-Standings:-Germany vs. Australia:...
, winning all of her singles matches. She then lost in the first round in Sydney to Czech Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
in three sets.
At the Australian Open
2006 Australian Open
The 2006 Australian Open was played between 16 and 29 January 2006.- Leadup :Several leading men's players declined to attend the Open due to injury, including Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Marat Safin....
, Stosur made it to the fourth round in singles, falling to Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
. She and Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
also made it to the women's doubles final, where they were defeated by Chinese duo Yan Zi
Yan Zi
Yan Zi is a Chinese women's tennis player.Yan Zi may also refer to:* Stefanie Sun , also known as Sun Yan Zi, Singaporean singer** Yan Zi , Sun's self-titled album...
and Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
.
After losing at the Australian Open, Stosur and Raymond won 18 straight matches, winning titles in Tokyo
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
, Memphis
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup are tennis tournaments held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is a men's ATP Tour event that has been held since 1976. In previous years it has been known as the U.S. Indoor Championships, the...
, Indian Wells
2006 Indian Wells Masters
The 2006 Indian Wells Masters was a joint ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournament that took place on the hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California. It took place from March 6 to March 19...
, and Miami
2006 Miami Masters
The 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open was the 22nd edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2006 ATP Tour and was classified as a Tier I event on the 2006 WTA Tour...
. They also won in Charleston
Family Circle Cup
The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
, at the French Open
2006 French Open - Women's Doubles
Results of the 2006 French Open tournament in the women's doubles event.- Schedule :- Seeds :# Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur # Cara Black / Rennae Stubbs # Anna-Lena Grönefeld / Meghann Shaughnessy ...
, and the WTA Tour Championships
2006 WTA Tour Championships
The 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships were held at the Madrid Arena in Madrid, Spain.-Singles: Justine Henin def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6–4, 6–3-Doubles:...
.
On 28 August, Stosur achieved a career-high ranking of number 30, after reaching the semifinals at New Haven
2006 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2006 Pilot Pen Tennis is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis, and is part of the International Series of the 2006 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2006 WTA Tour...
, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in two tiebreakers. She finished off the year winning the doubles title at the WTA Tour Championships
2006 WTA Tour Championships
The 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships were held at the Madrid Arena in Madrid, Spain.-Singles: Justine Henin def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6–4, 6–3-Doubles:...
in Madrid, ranked no. 1 in doubles and a career-high to that point no. 29 in singles.
2007
Stosur and Lisa RaymondLisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
successfully defended their doubles titles in Tokyo
2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from January 27 through February 4,...
, Indian Wells, and Miami. The pair also won the German Open in Berlin. In singles, Stosur reached three quarterfinals, at Gold Coast, Tokyo
2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from January 27 through February 4,...
, and Memphis
2007 Cellular South Cup - Singles
Sofia Arvidsson was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Meilen Tu.Venus Williams won in the final 6–1, 6–1, against Shahar Pe'er.-Seeds:# Shahar Pe'er # Tatiana Golovin ...
. In Rome, she defeated first seed Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in the second round, saving two match points, before losing to Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the following round.
After the French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
, Stosur started showing symptoms of what would only after months be diagnosed as Lyme disease
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...
, an infection transmitted by the bite of ticks. By then, her form had slumped. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon
2007 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion but was knocked out in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidišová.23rd seed Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli in the final, 6–4, 6–1...
, withdrew from many tournaments on the US hardcourt circuit, and lost in the first round of the U.S. Open
2007 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but she was defeated in the third round to thirtieth seed Agnieszka Radwańska.Justine Henin claimed the title without dropping a set, and defeating 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–1, 6–3...
, where she was seeded 29th, to the then ranked no. 96 Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
of France. Stosur did not play any more tournaments in 2007.
2008
Stosur returned playing two ITFInternational Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
tournaments before the 2008 Rome Masters
2008 Rome Masters
The 2008 Rome Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 65th edition of the Rome Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
in May, where she was defeated in the second round by Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
. The tournament also saw the return of the doubles team of Stosur and Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
with a second round loss. Less than a month later, they were defeated in the third round of the 2008 French Open
2008 French Open
The 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, where Stosur reached the second round in singles, losing to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
.
Stosur showed great promise at Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
; while only making the second round in singles, losing to Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
, she made the finals of both the ladies and mixed doubles. She and Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
lost the final to Venus
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
. The Williams sisters had just played against each other in the final of the ladies singles. With mixed doubles partner Bob Bryan
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
, Stosur defeated Mike Bryan
Mike Bryan
Michael Carl "Mike" Bryan is an American professional tennis player. He stands tall, weighs 192 lbs and plays right-handed. He turned professional in 1998. With his twin brother Bob, he has been World No...
and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
to win the title.
At the Beijing Olympics
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
, Stosur was defeated in the second round of the singles tournament by no. 4 seed Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
. In doubles, Stosur (formerly ranked no. 1) partnered Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
, ranked no. 5 at the time; however, the pair were unseeded because the ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
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
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
and Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...
, who were then ranked no. 2.
At the US Open
2008 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2008 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 128th edition of the US Open, and the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year...
, Stosur lost in the first round of singles to seventh seed Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
. She and Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Bhupathi
Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is an Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament...
were eliminated in the second round of the mixed doubles competition by Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
and Robert Lindstedt
Robert Lindstedt
Robert Lindstedt is a Swedish professional tennis player, who turned pro in 1998, and is a doubles specialist...
. Raymond and Stosur were runners-up at the women's doubles event, losing to the top ranked team of Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
.
By the end of the year Stosur was ranked no. 52 in the WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
singles rankings, 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 best team at the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
, with Stosur ranked no. 14 in doubles, 156 positions higher than she was when she returned to playing on the ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
circuit.
2009
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
in the second round of the Brisbane International
2009 Brisbane International - Women's Singles
Li Na was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Victoria Azarenka won in the final 6–3, 6–1, against Marion Bartoli.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Victoria Azarenka # Marion Bartoli ...
. At the Medibank International, she was defeated by no. 1 seed Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5. Seeded fourth in doubles, the pair of Stosur and Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
lost to Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
and Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei is a Taiwanese professional female tennis player. As of July 12, 2010 she is ranked 322nd in the WTA Tour singles rankings and is the fourth-highest ranked Taiwanese women's singles player. -2006–2007:...
in the first round of the tournament. Stosur lost in the third round to world no. 4 Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, 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
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 4–6, 2–6.
In the Fed Cup
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
Asia/Oceanic Zone
2009 Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone
The Asia/Oceania Zone is one of three zones of regional competition in the 2009 Fed Cup.-Group I:*Venue: State Tennis Center, Perth, Australia *Dates: 4–7 February-Play-offs:*Australia advance to World Group II play-offs....
competition, Stosur won four matches against various opponents from South Korea
South Korea Fed Cup team
The South Korea Fed Cup team represents South Korea in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Korea Tennis Association. They currently compete in the Asia/Oceania Zone of Group I.-History:...
, Thailand
Thailand Fed Cup team
The Thailand Fed Cup team represents Thailand in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand. They currently compete in the Asia/Oceania Zone of Group I.-History:...
, and Chinese Taipei
Chinese Taipei Fed Cup team
The Chinese Taipei Fed Cup team represents the Republic of China in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association. They currently compete in the Asia/Oceania Zone of Group I-History:...
. The Australian team
Australia Fed Cup team
The Australia Fed Cup team represents Australia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by Tennis Australia. They currently compete in the World Group I.-History:...
, which also included Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
and Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
, advanced to the World Group II play-offs, winning all of its twelve rubbers.
At the Dubai Tennis Championships
2009 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2009 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, Stosur was defeated in the second round by Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
. Together with Stubbs, she was ousted in the semifinals of the doubles competition by the world no.1 team of Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
, 4–6, 4–6.
In Indian Wells, Stosur was eliminated in the second round by Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
6–3, 3–6, 5–7. In doubles, Stosur lost to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
and Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in the second round 2–6, 6–3, 7–10. At the Sony Ericsson Open
2009 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Open was a men's and women's tennis tournament held from March 23 to April 5, 2009. It was the 25th edition of the Miami Masters event and was played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
in Miami, Stosur defeated no. 2 seed Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
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
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
1–6, 0–6. She reached the same round in doubles, losing to Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
and Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
, 7–6, 2–6, 8–10. Due to her results, Stosur's singles ranking rose from 43 to 31.
At the MPS Group Championships
2009 MPS Group Championships
The 2009 MPS Group Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 30th edition of the MPS Group Championships but first held in its new location, and was part of the International series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Ponte Vedra Beach, Stosur was eliminated in the first round by no. 2 seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, 3–6, 7–6, 1–6. She then played for the Australian Fed Cup
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
team in Mildura, Australia against Switzerland
Switzerland Fed Cup team
The Switzerland Fed Cup team represents Switzerland in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by Swiss Tennis. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
in their World Group II playoff
2009 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs
The World Group II Play-offs are the third highest level of 2009 Fed Cup. Winners will advance to the World Group II, and loser will play in the Zonal Regions I.-Belgium vs. Canada:-Estonia vs. Israel:-Poland vs. Japan:...
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
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
singles record to 6–0. With this result, the Australian team
Australia Fed Cup team
The Australia Fed Cup team represents Australia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by Tennis Australia. They currently compete in the World Group I.-History:...
advanced to the World Group II
2010 Fed Cup World Group II
The World Group II is the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2010. Australia, Belgium, Estonia and Slovakia advanced to the World Group I Play-offs, and losing nations advancing to the World Group II Play-offs.-Spain vs. Australia:...
in 2010.
On to the clay season, Stosur was eliminated in the first round of the Rome Masters
2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Women's Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova.Dinara Safina won in the final, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–2.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
by qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
, and was also defeated in her first match in doubles. She then competed at the Madrid Masters
2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open
The 2009 Madrid Masters is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is the 8th edition of the event on the ATP and 1st on the WTA. It is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2009 WTA Tour...
, where she upset no.10 seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the first round, but fell to Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
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
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
5–7, 6–7.
At the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, Stosur and Stubbs fell in the third round to 16th seeds Yan Zi
Yan Zi
Yan Zi is a Chinese women's tennis player.Yan Zi may also refer to:* Stefanie Sun , also known as Sun Yan Zi, Singaporean singer** Yan Zi , Sun's self-titled album...
and Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
. In singles, Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round and Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
, 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
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
of France, 6–1, 6–2, for a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
, 6–1, 6–3, and advanced to her first ever Grand Slam semifinal against no. 7 seed and eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
. 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
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
Rankings for the first time in her career.
Stosur started the grass season playing at the AEGON International
2009 AEGON International - Women's Singles
Agnieszka Radwańska was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Virginie Razzano.-Seeds:# Elena Dementieva # Svetlana Kuznetsova # Jelena Janković # Vera Zvonareva ...
. She lost in the second round to sixth seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, 1–6, 7–5, 1–6. Having beaten the world no. 1 team of Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
in the semifinals, she was a runner-up in the doubles tournament, losing the final to Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
and Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova is a professional female tennis player from Uzbekistan.In 2005, she reached her first ever WTA singles final in Tashkent, the capital of her home country. In the final she lost to 16-year old Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands...
.
As the 18th seed at Wimbledon
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, Stosur lost in the third to 13th seed Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
, 5–7, 2–6. In ladies' doubles, Stosur reached her second consecutive final, this time partnering Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
. The third seeds beat second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
and Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...
in three sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 in the semifinals, but were defeated in the final by fourth seeds Venus
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in straight sets, 6–7, 4–7. Stosur was also defending the mixed doubles title together with Bob Bryan
Bob Bryan
Robert Charles "Bob" Bryan is an American male professional tennis player. With his twin brother Mike, he has spent over 200 weeks as a World No. 1 doubles player. He has won eighteen Grand Slam titles, 11 in men's doubles and seven in mixed doubles. He turned professional in 1998...
, but the second seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals by 9th seeds and eventual champions Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
and Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles
Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...
.
Stosur started the US Open Series in Stanford
2009 Bank of the West Classic
The 2009 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and was part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
, making it into the semifinals, where she lost to eighth seed Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
.
Stosur then competed at the LA Women's Tennis Championships as the no. 13 seed. She made it to her fifth WTA Tour
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
final, where she lost to no. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
. Her next tournament was Toronto
2009 Rogers Cup
The 2009 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 120th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier 5 of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, where she defeated no. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, before being eliminated by 4th seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
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
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
in the semifinals, 3–6, 6–3, [10–7], but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...
and María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
, 6–2, 5–7, [9–11], in the final.
With these results, Stosur improved her ranking to a career-high no. 15 in singles just in time for the US Open
2009 US Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title...
, where she was seeded accordingly. She lost to American Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
in the second round, 5–7, 6–4–6. Stosur entered the doubles event
2009 US Open - Women's Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the defending champions, but Serena Williams and Venus Williams defeated them in the final 6–2, 6–2.- Seeds :# Cara Black / Liezel Huber # Anabel Medina Garrigues / Virginia Ruano Pascual ...
with compatriot Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
. As the third seeds, they made the semifinals without dropping a set, where they faced no. 1 seeds Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
. They won the first set, but lost the next two after a two-day rain interruption, 7–5, 3–6, 1–6.
At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, Stosur was defeated by Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in the second round, 0–6, 1–6. Seeded 15th at the China Open
2009 China Open (tennis)
The 2009 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 11th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2009 ATP Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, Stosur lost a three-setter to Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
. Stosur then played in Osaka
2009 HP Open
The 2009 HP Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the HP Open, and was classified as an WTA International tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
as the third seed. Stosur captured her first-ever title on the WTA tour by beating Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
in the finals, 7–5, 6–1, in just over an hour. This win secured her a spot at the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament that was played on indoor hard courts. It was the first edition of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions and was part of the 2009 WTA Tour...
held in Bali. She also qualified at the 2009 WTA Tour Championships
2009 WTA Tour Championships - Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber are the defending champions, but they lost in the final against Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez.-Seeds:# Cara Black / Liezel Huber # Serena Williams / Venus Williams ...
in the doubles event partnering compatriot Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
. They lost a hard-fought semifinals match against no. 1 seeds Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
, 6–3, 6–7 8–10.
Stosur was one of only two players on tour who played at both year-end championships. The other one was María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
, who was in Stosur's group at Bali for the round-robin stage with Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
. Stosur won her first match against Szávay in three sets, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, but lost her second to María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
, 6–7, 5–7. This loss cost her the semifinals spot, as Martínez Sánchez won both her round-robin matches.
2010
After her success in 2009, Stosur decided to focus on singles and take part in doubles less. Her partnership with Rennae StubbsRennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
ended, and she partnered with Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
; she took part in only the major tournaments in hopes of reaching the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.
Alongside Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
, Stosur represented Australia at the 2010 Hopman Cup
2010 Hopman Cup
-Spain vs. United States:-Australia vs. United States:-Spain vs. Romania:*Pat Cash joined Cîrstea to take on the Spainsh duo in the doubles over a Pro Set. The Spanish pair won 8–4.-Spain vs. Australia:-Romania vs. United States:-Standings:...
. Rhw Australiana were the top seeds. Their first tie was against Romania, where Stosur lost unexpectedly to Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
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
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...
in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4. Hewitt also won his singles match against John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, 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
2010 Medibank International Sydney
The 2010 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 43rd edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International Sydney, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of...
. Stosur lost to Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
,3–6, 1–6, in the first round.
Stosur was guaranteed a seeding of 13 for the 2010 Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
. She lost against world number 1 and defending champion Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 4–6, 2–6. Despite the loss, she moved up to a career-high ranking of no. 11. She played with Russian Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
in the doubles event of the Australian Open. They were seeded fifth, but lost to another Russia-Australian duo, Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
and Anastasia Rodionova in the first round.
She then travelled to Adelaide to represent Australia at the Fed Cup
2010 Fed Cup World Group II
The World Group II is the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2010. Australia, Belgium, Estonia and Slovakia advanced to the World Group I Play-offs, and losing nations advancing to the World Group II Play-offs.-Spain vs. Australia:...
alongside Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
, Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
, and Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
against Spain. Stosur won both of her singles matches by beating María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, and Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
, 6–1, 6–3. Stosur and Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
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
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
, 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
Tathiana Garbin
Tathiana Garbin is an Italian tennis player. As of 17 May 2010, she is ranked World No. 56 in singles and No. 38 in doubles. Garbin is probably best known for her shocking defeat of the defending champion and the reigning World No. 1 Justine Henin in the second round of the 2004 French Open...
. She had better success in the doubles partnering Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
. 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
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
and Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, 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
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 6–2, 7–6, to move through to her first semifinal at the tournament, where she lost to eventual champion Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, 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
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
reached number 4 in 2002 and Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
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
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
Stosur's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
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
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, 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
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
and Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
.
Stosur began her clay season at the Family Circle Cup
2010 Family Circle Cup
The 2010 Family Circle Cup was a women's tennis event on the 2010 WTA Tour, which took place from April 12 to April 18. The event was hosted at the Family Circle Tennis Center, in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It was the second and last event of the clay court season played on green clay...
, where she was seeded fourth. In the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 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 only Australian woman to have won this title.
Then, Stosur competed in the World Group Play-offs
2010 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
The World Group Play-offs are the main play-offs of 2010 Fed Cup. Australia, Belgium, France and Slovakia won their ties and will play in the World Group I in 2011. The losing countries will play in the World Group II in 2011.-Belgium vs. Estonia:...
in Ukraine. After the first day, the Aussies had a commanding lead, going 2–0 against Ukraine. This was helped by a 6–3, 6–0 win from Stosur against Mariya Koryttseva
Mariya Koryttseva
Mariya Koryttseva is a Ukrainian female tennis player. Her career high ranking is No. 50 in the world, which she achieved on August 18, 2008....
, and Anastasia Rodionova's win over Alona Bondarenko, 0–6, 6–3, 7–5. Stosur then secured victory for Australia with a 7–6, 6–3 win over Lyudmyla Kichenok
Lyudmyla Kichenok
Lyudmyla Kichenok is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 232, which she reached on 18 October 2010. Her career high in doubles is 143, which she reached on 12 July 2010. She is the twin sister of Nadiya Kichenok.-Doubles: 1 :- Singles 5 :- Doubles 18 ...
. Because of this, Australia played in the World Group
2011 Fed Cup
The 2011 Fed Cup is the 49th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
in 2011 against the top seed Italy
Italy Fed Cup team
The Italy Fed Cup team represents Italy in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Federazione Italiana Tennis. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current Team:* Francesca Schiavone * Flavia Pennetta...
.
Stosur then competed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 24 through May 2, 2010...
in Stuttgart. Her 11-game winning streak was ended by former world no. 1 Justine Henin in the final, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6. Despite this result, Stosur was awarded a new career high ranking of world no. 8.
Her next scheduled tournament was the Rome Masters
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
; however, Stosur had to withdraw due to fatigue. With this, her next scheduled tournament was the Madrid Open
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2010 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from May 7 – May 16. It was the 9th edition of the event on the ATP and 2nd on the WTA...
as the no. 8 seed. In the quarterfinals, Stosur was broken multiple times by Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, losing 3–6, 3–6. Because of her run, she rose to world no. 7. In doubles, Stosur resumed her partnership with Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
as third seeds with a first-round bye. However, they were knocked out in the second round by Anastasia Rodionova and Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
.
Coming in to the French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
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 Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
, and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, which was dubbed the toughest section of the draw. Becoming the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Wendy Turnbull
Wendy Turnbull
Wendy Turnbull, MBE, is a retired Australian professional tennis player. During her career, she won 9 Grand Slam titles, 4 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a 3-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 13 singles titles and 55 doubles titles.-Career:Turnbull...
at the 1980 Australian Open, she was the heavy favourite for the title, by dispatching three consecutive former world no. 1's. She was upset by Italian Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, 4–6, 6–7.
In doubles, Stosur and her partner Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
were the fourth seeds. They defeated Irina Pavlovic and Laura Thorpe in the first round, 6–4, 6–4, then defeated Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
and Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek is a Dutch professional tennis player. Her highest WTA ranking was number 30 on 11 February 2008. She currently is the second best ranked player from the Netherlands behind Arantxa Rus.-Personal life:...
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
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
, 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
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
. 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
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
in Doha.
Her next tournament was the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
. As the sixth seed, Stosur fell in the first round to Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian professional tennis player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011....
, 4–6, 4–6, after saving three match points. As the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
champion Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
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
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
'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
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
. She played with her 2010 partner Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
as the third seeds, but lost in the third round to eventual champions Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
and Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
, 4–6, 4–6. She also competed in the mixed doubles event as first seeds with Nenad Zimonjić
Nenad Zimonjic
Nenad Zimonjić is a professional Serbian tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3 in men's doubles. He is the second tennis doubles player from Serbia to hold the World No.1, after Slobodan Živojinović.-Career:...
. They received a bye in the first round, and in the second round, they defeated Colin Fleming
Colin Fleming
Colin Fleming is a British professional tennis player who lives in Linlithgow.He was selected for 2009 Great Britain Davis Cup team....
and Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
, 6–1, 6–4. They then faced the Belgium duo Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....
and Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, but lost 4–6, 6–7.
Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Bank of the West Classic
2010 Bank of the West Classic
The 2010 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and is a part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
in Stanford
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
, where she was the first seed, but lost in a semifinal match-up with Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
, 2–6, 3–6.
She then participated in the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. As the second seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
, 4–6, 3–6.
Due to a shoulder injury, she withdrew from her next two events;
the Cincinnati Masters
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
The 2010 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament that were played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, near Cincinnati, United States, with the men playing from August 14 through August 22, 2010, and the women...
and the Rogers Cup
2010 Rogers Cup
The 2010 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 121st edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Montreal. This meant that Stosur had only taken part in one of the five Premier 5 tournaments of the year. By missing both Premier 5 tournaments, Stosur fell to no. 6, since Kim Clijsters won the Cincinnati Masters tournament.
After taking time off to recover from her injury, Stosur took part in the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis
2010 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 42nd edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Cullman-Heyman 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 Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, 1–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals.
At the 2010 US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
Stosur was seeded fifth. In her first quarterfinal at the US Open, she was up a break in the third set, before falling to defending champion and second seed Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, 4–6, 7–5, 3–6. Stosur announced that she would not take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Instead, Stosur competed at the final Premier Mandatory event of the year, the China Open
2010 China Open (tennis)
The 2010 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 12th edition of the China Open, and is part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, where she lost in the first round to qualifier, Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova is a Latvian tennis player. On January 31, 2011, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36. On August 31, 2009, she claimed her highest Doubles rank of No. 195...
in three sets, 6–2, 6–7, 5–7. Stosur qualified in singles for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
2010 WTA Tour Championships
The 2010 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 26 to October 31. It was the third and final time that the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. In 2011 the competition will move to Istanbul, Turkey.Serena Williams...
in Doha for the first time in her career, following the withdrawal of American, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
.
Stosur then attempted to defend her title at the 2010 HP Open
2010 HP Open
The 2010 HP Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 2nd edition of the HP Open, and was classified as one of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
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
2010 WTA Tour Championships
The 2010 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 26 to October 31. It was the third and final time that the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. In 2011 the competition will move to Istanbul, Turkey.Serena Williams...
, where she was seeded fifth. Stosur was drawn in the Maroon Group alongside world no. 1, Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, world no. 6 Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, and world no. 9 Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, 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
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
. 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
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
, 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
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
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.
2011
Stosur began her 20112011 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA...
season by competing at the Brisbane International
2011 Brisbane International
The 2011 Brisbane International was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament and took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson, Brisbane. It was held from 2 to 9 January...
. She fell in straight sets to fellow Australian, Jarmila Groth in the second round. After this tournament, Stosur competed at the Medibank Sydney International
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
as the fourth seed. She lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
.
Stosur was seeded fifth at the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, where she lost in the third round to 25th seed Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
, 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
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
.
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
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, 6–7, 4–6. In Miami
2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but lost to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki ...
, Stosur was seeded fourth, but was defeated in the fourth round by 16th seed and former no. 1 Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
, 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
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
in two sets.
In Stuttgart, as fifth seed, Stosur lost to Germany's Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. However, she won in the doubles tournament, partnering Germany's Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
, by defeating the German team of Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois is a professional German tennis player who has won two German Tennis Championships and reached the second round of all four Grand Slam events, as well as the final of two WTA tournaments. She lives in Urexweiler, Marpingen. Her career high rank is World No...
and Jasmin Wöhr
Jasmin Wöhr
Jasmin Wöhr is a German professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999.Wöhr was part of the Germany Fed Cup team in 2006. In the same year, she played solely in doubles competition, but has since returned to singles as well...
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
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
in straight sets, 6–7, 3–6. She then competed in Rome
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles
María José Martínez Sánchez was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova.Maria Sharapova defeated No. 6 seed Samantha Stosur in the final 6–2, 6–4...
. 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
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, yet was upset by Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
, 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
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
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
Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink is a Hungarian professional female tennis player. On September 21, 2009 Czink reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 37....
. In mixed doubles, Stosur partnered with Mike Bryan, but lost in the first round. In ladies doubles, Stosur partnered with Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
. Along the way, the pair upset the top seeds and defending champions Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
and Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
in the second round. Stosur and Lisicki made it to the final, but lost in straight sets to Květa Peschke
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
, 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
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
, 3–6, 5–7. However, Stosur bounced back at the Rogers Cup in Toronto by reaching the final, having defeated Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
and Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
along the way. Stosur was defeated by Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the final, 4–6, 2–6. She then competed in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...
, 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 because of a toe injury, which meant a walkover for Stosur. In the third round, she defeated fifth seed Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
for the second time in two weeks in three sets, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4. She then faced Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets, 3–6, 2–6.
Stosur was seeded ninth at the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, and she drew Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
in the first round and defeated her, 6–2, 6–3. In the second round, she defeated American Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe is an American professional tennis player. She played on the junior circuit, where she reached a high ranking of junior world no. 15, but is gradually playing more senior tournaments. She won the 2008 US Open Girls' singles championship.She made her WTA debut in Los Angeles, and...
, 6–3, 6–4. The third round was one of Stosur's hardest matches against Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, finally prevailing 7–6, 6–7, 7–5 after a 3 hour 16 minute battle. She played Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
in the fourth round and won 6–2, 6–715–17, 6–3. The second set tiebreak score of 15–17 was the longest in any Major in the history of women's tennis. She then beat second seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 6–3, 6–3, to reach the semifinals for the first time.
Stosur followed this milestone with a 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 win over German player Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber is a professional German tennis player of Polish descent, who has considered representing Poland. She began playing tennis aged five. Kerber has a career high ranking of World No. 30 achieved on 3 October 2011...
to reach her first US Open singles final, where she defeated three-time champion Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 6–2, 6–3, for her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, the first by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley
Evonne Goolagong
Evonne Fay Goolagong Cawley, AO, MBE is a former World No. 1 Australian female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: seven in singles , six in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.-Early life:Goolagong is the...
won Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
in 1980.
Stosur suffered two second round losses at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
and the 2011 China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, both to Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
. However, on 9 October 2011 it was announced that Stosur had qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
2011 WTA Tour Championships
The 2011 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament to be played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 25 to October 30, 2011. It was the first time Turkey hosted the WTA Tour Championships. It was the 41st edition of the singles event and the 36th edition of the doubles competition...
in Istanbul, Turkey.
Stosur was runner-up at the 2011 HP Open
2011 HP Open
The 2011 HP Open is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the third edition of the HP Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
where she was defeated by second seed, Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. Along the way she defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn is a professional Thai tennis player. At the Wimbledon 2009, she won the junior singles title. As of 12 April 2010, Lertcheewakarn has a rank on the WTA singles tour of 150 and doubles tour of 97.-Playing style:...
, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, Misaki Doi
Misaki Doi
is a professional Japanese tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 116, which she reached on March 21, 2011 Her career high in doubles is 222, which she reached...
, 6–2, 6–4, seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers
Chanelle Scheepers
Chanelle Scheepers is a South African professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking is No. 37, which she reached on 10 October 2011. Her career high doubles ranking is 91, set at 30 August 2010....
, 6–2, 6–3 and Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
, 7–6(5), 3–6, 6–3.
Stosur was placed in the white group for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships
2011 WTA Tour Championships
The 2011 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament to be played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 25 to October 30, 2011. It was the first time Turkey hosted the WTA Tour Championships. It was the 41st edition of the singles event and the 36th edition of the doubles competition...
. Stosur's first match was against second seed Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
, winning the match, 6-1, 7-5. 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
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
6-2, 6-2. This was her fifth loss against Azarenka and has yet to win a single set from Azarenka. Stosur thrashed fifth seed Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
6-1, 6-0 in her final round robin match to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year, where she versed maroon group winner, Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
for a spot in the final. She lost the match 5-7 6-3 6-3, despite being 7-5 1-0 up with a break point to go 2-0. Despite the loss, this was the first time Stosur won a set against Kvitova. Kvitova 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
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
as the World Number 6, and will finish the season ranked 6 for the second straight year.
Stosur will begin her next season in her home state at Brisbane, and at Sydney before playing the 2012 Australian Open.
Playing style
GeneralAn accomplished doubles player, Stosur in her early years developed a serve and volley
Serve and volley
Serve and volley is a style of play in tennis where the player serving moves quickly towards the net after hitting a serve. The server then attempts to hit a volley , as opposed to the baseline style, where the server would stay back following the serve and attempt to hit a groundstroke Serve and...
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 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
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, 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 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 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 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-current World No. 1 Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
; and former World No. 1 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, in the 4th round, quarter-final and semi-final at the 2010 Roland Garros.
Singles: 2 finals (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2010 | French Open | Clay |  Francesca SchiavoneFrancesca Schiavone Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World... |
4–6, 6–7(2–7) | |
| Winner | 2011 2011 US Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the two-time defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Ninth seed Samantha Stosur won her first Grand Slam championship, defeating the favourite Serena Williams, a three-time US Open champion and the 28th seed, 6–2, 6–3 in the final... |
US Open | Hard |  Serena WilliamsSerena Williams Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on... |
6–2, 6–3 |
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
| Tournament | 2002 2002 WTA Tour The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the 30th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2001, and concluded on November 11, 2002, after 64 events.... | 2003 2003 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2004 2004 WTA Tour The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events.... | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 WTA Tour The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also... | 2008 2008 WTA Tour The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No... | 2009 2009 WTA Tour The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events.... | 2010 2010 WTA Tour The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end... | 2011 2011 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open Australian Open The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court... |
1R 2002 Australian Open - Women's Singles Jennifer Capriati defeated Martina Hingis 4–6 7–6 6–2 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 2002 Australian Open.-Finals:See also:... |
3R 2003 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 7–6 3–6 6–4 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 2003 Australian Open.See also:-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Venus Williams # Jennifer Capriati ... |
2R 2004 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but she withdrew due to a left knee injury.Justine Henin-Hardenne won the title, defeating compatriot and rival Kim Clijsters in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3.- Seeds :# Justine Henin-Hardenne ... |
1R 2005 Australian Open - Women's Singles Defending champion Justine Henin was not competing, and thus did not defend her title. Instead, seventh-seeded Serena Williams of the United States defeated top-seeded Lindsay Davenport, also of the United States, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, to win the Women's Singles title at the 2005 Australian... |
4R 2006 Australian Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová.Amélie Mauresmo, the third seed, ultimately won the tournament, her first major championship. Her finals opponent, eighth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired down 2–0 in the second set, already down a... |
2R 2007 Australian Open - Women's Singles -Seeds:# Maria Sharapova # Amélie Mauresmo # Svetlana Kuznetsova # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova # Martina Hingis # Elena Dementieva ... |
A | 3R 2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ... |
4R | 3R | ||||
| French Open | A | A | 1R 2004 French Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, but she stunned in the second round by Tathiana Garbin. This was Henin-Hardenne's only loss at the French Open from 2003 until 2010.... |
2R 2005 French Open - Women's Singles Anastasia Myskina was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Maria Sánchez Lorenzo. Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed the title, defeating home player Mary Pierce in the final, 6–1, 6–1... |
1R 2006 French Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, and she defended her title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–4, 6–4.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova ... |
3R 2007 French Open - Women's Singles The two-time defending champion was Justine Henin. She captured her 4th and 3rd consecutive French Open title after defeating Ana Ivanović of Serbia 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match... |
2R 2008 French Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Ana Ivanović won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Dinara Safina. This is Ivanovic's Third Grand Slam Final, Second French Open Final, and her First Grand Slam Singles Title... |
SF | F | 3R | ||||
| Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
A | 1R 2003 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:... |
1R 2004 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the two-time defending champion, but she was defeated by 17-year-old Maria Sharapova in the final, 6–1, 6–4. This victory was hailed by the media as "the most stunning upset in memory". With this win, Sharapova, who would later became a future World No. 1, entered the Top Ten... |
1R 2005 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but she was defeated by Venus Williams in the semifinals.Williams won the title, defeating compatriot and World No... |
2R 2006 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Results of the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Justine Henin-Hardenne # Maria Sharapova ... |
2R 2007 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion but was knocked out in the fourth round by Nicole Vaidišová.23rd seed Venus Williams defeated Marion Bartoli in the final, 6–4, 6–1... |
2R 2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ... |
3R | 1R | 1R | ||||
| US Open | A | A | 2R 2004 US Open - Women's Singles Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, but she was eliminated in the fourth round by Nadia Petrova.Svetlana Kuznetsova was the title, defeating compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final. She became the third Russian woman, after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova , to win a Grand Slam... |
1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R 2009 US Open - Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title... |
QF | W | ||||
External links
- Profile on Tennis Australia
- http://tennis-prose.com/articles/biofile-with-samantha-stosur/
- Tennis gear and equipment used by Samantha Stosur