Samantha Stosur is a former Australian professional tennis player, who competed on the WTA Tour since 1999.
| Date of Birth: | 30 March 1984 |
| Birthplace: | Brisbane, Australia |
| Residence: | Gold Coast, Australia |
| Height: | 5'9" (175 cm) |
| Weight: | 143 lbs (68 kg) |
| Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Turned Pro: | 1999 |
Samantha Stosur was born on March 30, 1984, in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, to Tony and Diane Stosur. After the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, she began to play tennis at the age of six, after the family moved to Adelaide. The Australian joined the Queensland Academy of Sport at the age of 14 before joining the Australian Institute of Sport program at age 16.
Stosur first made an impression in professional tennis at the 2003 Australian Open. As a wild card, she stunned the former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez in the opening round. That was followed by another win against Vanessa Webb before exiting to Daniela Hantuchova.
She then had a consistent 2004, leading to her entering the Top 100. 2005 saw Stosur reach her first two WTA Tour finals. These both came at the start of the year on home soil at the Gold Coast Championships and the Sydney International. She narrowly lost both finals to Patty Schnyder and Alicia Molik.
Stosur had a run to the fourth round at the 2006 Australian Open before falling to Martina Hingis. By August 2009, she ended as the runner-up at three more events, meaning she had lost her first five finals on the WTA Tour.
However, Stosur had a breakthrough season in 2009. At that year’s Roland Garros, she progressed all the way to the semifinal. The Australian almost made it to the final but lost a tight match to Svetlana Kuznetsova 4-6, 7-6, 4-6.
Stosur’s wait for a first WTA Tour title also ended in October 2009 at the Japan Women’s Open. Her run to the final included a three-set triumph in the semifinal against Caroline Wozniacki. Stosur then overcame Francesca Schiavone 7-5, 6-1 in the final.
The Australian made her first Grand Slam final at the 2010 French Open. She defeated Simona Halep, Rossanna Neffa de los Rios, Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarona, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, and Jelena Jankovic to reach the final. But she could not end her memorable run by claiming the title. She lost in straight sets to Francesca Schiavone in the final.
But Stosur’s big moment came at the 2011 US Open. Victories against Sofia Arvidsson, Coco Vandeweghe, Nadezhda Petrova, Maria Kirilenko, Vera Zvonareva, and Angelique Kerber to set up a final against Serena Williams. The Australian shocked the tennis world by sweeping Williams aside 6-2, 6-3 to claim her sole Grand Slam title.
In addition, she also broke new ground at the WTA 1000 level in 2011. This was achieved by reaching her first two finals at the Italian Open and the Canadian Open. She lost to Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, respectively.
2012 saw Stosur have another run to the semifinal of the French Open, where she lost in three sets to Sara Errani. The US Open champion also progressed to her last WTA 1000 final in Doha, which ended in defeat to Victoria Azarenka.
Stosur did not threaten as much at Grand Slam level in the following decade. The one notable exception to this was a last run to a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2016 French Open, where she lost to the eventual champion Garbine Muguruza.
Despite no longer being a consistent threat at the biggest tournaments, Stosur won six more titles after her US Open success at WTA 250 and 500 level. The last of these came at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in May 2017. Stosur retired from professional tennis at the 2023 Australian Open.
