Samantha Stosur Profile

Samantha Stosur (born 30 March 1984 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 on WTA Tour in doubles, together with Lisa Raymond from the United States. As of August 24, 2009, Stosur is ranked No. 15 in singles and No. 5 in doubles by the WTA.

Samantha Stosur is the daughter of Tony and Diane and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel. At the age of six her house in Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, causing her family to move 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 up, Stosur played at local courts with older brother Daniel, who later encouraged their parents to take her to tennis lessons.

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

An accomplished doubles player, Stosur has developed a serve-and-volley style of play. Her right-handed forehand groundstrokes, hit with heavy spin, are considered her best, as evidenced by her often choosing to hit inside-out forehands. She is also noted for her athleticism.

Due to its power, kick and variety, Stosur's serve is highly considered as the best on the women's tour and even better than Serena Williams. Her first serve, however erratic, reaches more than 118 mph (190 km/h) on regular basis; at the 2008 Hansol Korea Open final she recorded an ace at 122 mph (197 km/h), which she believed to be her fastest service to date. On August 18, 2009 she surpassed this serve and unleashed a whopping serve topping out at 199 km/h at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Her second, a high bouncing kick serve, is usually highly rated by media and players alike. After Stosur beat Virginie Razzano at the fourth round of the French Open, Razzano gave somewhat of a compliment saying "She (Stosur) serves like a man".

Her favorite surface is the hard court.

As of 2009, Stosur's clothing sponsor is Lacoste. Her racquet is Babolat's Pure Storm model, and she endorses Oakley eyewear, especifically the Enduring model.