Samantha Stosur

Samantha Stosur is an Australian tennis player who is famous for her exploits in both singles and doubles.

The winner of two doubles Grand Slams with Lisa Raymond, Stosur also improved her singles play dramatically as her career progressed. She produced one of the greatest performances ever seen at the 2011 US Open, where she defeated the legendary Serena Williams in the final.

Best finish at each of the four Grand Slams - singles:

Australian Open: 4th Round (2006, 2010)

French Open: Runner-up (2010)

Wimbledon: 3rd Round (2009, 2013, 2015)

US Open: Champion (2011)

Highest Ranking: No. 4

Best finish at each of the four Grand Slams - doubles:

Australian Open: Runner-up (2006)

French Open: Champion (2006)

Wimbledon: Runner-up (2008, 2009, 2011)

US Open: Champion (2005)

Highest Ranking: No. 1

Style of play

Stosur is an attack-minded player who loves to approach the net behind her forceful groundstrokes.

She was a net-rusher in her early days, which also contributed greatly to her success in doubles. However, in later years she migrated to a more baseline-oriented style of play, having shored up her backhand.

Stosur imparts extreme topspin on her forehand but has a flat backhand, both of which she uses to end points as quickly as possible.

Strengths and weaknesses

Stosur is widely regarded as one of the best servers in the history of women's tennis. While her first serve is fairly effective, it is her second serve that sets her apart. Using a viciously spinning kick serve, Stosur has won many points throughout her career by pulling her opponents off the court with just one swipe of the racquet.

The Australian's forehand is also a significant weapon, especially on clay where her topspin takes the ball to remarkable heights. She has great disguise on her forehand too, and can go crosscourt or down the line with nearly identical backswings.

Stosur is an accomplished volleyer, and uses her sharply honed net game to finish points set up by her big forehand. She also comes in quite often behind her backhand slice, and her strong reflexes help her deal with passing shots very effectively.

Stosur's backhand is decidedly her weaker wing, and she sometimes struggles to generate sufficient pace off it. She has also been known to make wrong shot selection decisions, which can be seen in her high unforced error count.

Personal life

Stosur was born in Brisbane, but briefly moved to Adelaide after her family home was destroyed in a flood. Her parents are named Tony and Diane, while she has two brothers named Dominic and Daniel.

Stosur got a tennis racquet as a Christmas gift when she was eight years old, after which she took up the sport seriously. She played with brother Daniel in her early days, and her role model while growing up was Steffi Graf.

Stosur found it a little tough to win big titles in singles after turning pro, but earned almost immediate success in both women's doubles and mixed doubles. Her singles breakthrough came at the 2010 French Open, where she defeated Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Jelena Jankovic in one of the toughest draws ever seen, before losing to Francesca Schiavone in the final.

A year after that she finished the job, but in New York, not Paris. Playing some of the best attacking tennis ever seen in Arthur Ashe stadium, Stosur shocked Serena Williams in the 2011 US Open final as she stormed to a straight sets victory.

Social media presence:

Samantha Stosur Instagram: @samstosur

Samantha Stosur Twitter: @bambamsam30