Samantha Jane Stosur born 30 March 1984 is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 on the WTA Tour in doubles with Lisa Raymond from the United States. In singles, Stosur has wins against former No. 1s Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Lindsay Davenport, Amélie Mauresmo, Justine Henin and Caroline Wozniacki. She is currently ranked World No. 10 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. Stosur was runner-up in singles at the 2010 French Open.
Stosur was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel. She is of Polish descent by way of a grandfather. When she was six the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, and the family decided to move to Adelaide. There she started playing tennis, when she was given a racket for Christmas at the age of eight. While her parents worked long hours at the cafe they had started, Stosur played at local courts with older brother Daniel, who later encouraged their parents to take her to tennis lessons. Stosur attended Helensvale State High School on the Northern Gold Coast.She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.
At 14 she joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters and in 2001, when she was 16, Stosur joined the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program.
Stosur first played professional tennis in 1999 on the ITF circuit. She debuted on the Women's Tennis Association tour in 2000, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. In 2001 she won four straight ITF titles. In 2002 she lost in the first round at the Gold Coast event.
In 2003 Stosur won her first WTA singles matches, reaching the third round of the Australian Open. She lost in the third round to No. 7 seed, Daniela Hantuchová. She also qualified for a WTA event in Memphis.
In 2004 Stosur reached the semifinals of the Gold Coast event, before falling to Ai Sugiyama. The next week she reached the second round of the WTA tournament in Hobart, then the second round of the Australian Open. She later qualified for WTA events in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Vienna and Birmingham. Stosur competed at the Athens Olympics, where she lost in the first round. She continued to play WTA qualifying events, qualifying for the Japan Open and Bali in the autumn of 2004. At the end of the 2004 season, Stosur reached the doubles final in Québec City, partnered with Els Callens from Belgium.
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