Sam Stosur Determined to Come Back Stronger in 2019

It’s been a disappointing 2018 for Sam Stosur. The 34-year-old is a veteran of the circuit and has been one of the most consistent performers on tour across the last decade, but after a string of underwhelming tournaments this year, she admitted that she is considering the prospect of retirement. However, she’s determined to bounce back and told the Australian press that she’s already looking forward to the start of the 2019 season.

2018 was the first time in 13 years that Sam Stosur ended the season with a negative record on tour. However, she was pleased to remain injury-free and can take solace from the fact that she retains her desire to win. She failed to clinch any titles this year and is set to finish outside of the top 50, but the former world number four has confirmed that she will return to action in the Brisbane International at the beginning of 2019.

Retirement rumors

Retirement rumors emerged after she told reporters, “I don’t know necessarily how many more Brisbane Internationals or Australian Opens I’m going to have,” and when pressed on a potential retirement date, she offered a fairly non-committal response. “I don’t want to put a date on it,” she suggested before adding, “I want to go out on a high.”

Sam’s achievements

With nine WTA titles under her belt, she has enjoyed plenty of success on tour since making her Grand Slam debut at the 2002 Australian Open. The following season, she reached the third round of the tournament, but 2004 was her breakthrough year with an appearance at the Athens Olympics as well as qualifying for tournaments in Vienna, Indian Wells, Birmingham, and Quebec.

Despite regularly reaching the final four, she has just a single Grand Slam title to her name with a 2011 success at the US Open. Her victory over Serena Williams was largely overshadowed by her opponent’s outburst at the officials. It isn’t the first time that the American has courted controversy at Flushing Meadows, with her 2018 rant drawing parallels to the 2011 final. She was beaten by Naomi Osaka in September but remains the player to beat and has been priced up as the 5/1 favorite in the Paddy Power tennis odds for the 2019 Australian Open.

About her 2018

Despite a below-par season, which saw her lose 23 of her 38 matches in 2018, Stosur feels as though she is still playing well and crucially, she also managed to avoid any further injury setbacks. She reached the quarter-final in Gstaad before losing to Alize Cornet and also enjoyed a decent grass court season, making the final four in Mallorca. Decent runs in Prague and Strasbourg also suggest that there is still plenty more left in the tank and Stosur isn’t calling time on her career just yet.

The Aussie will enjoy a couple of weeks rest before ramping up her preparations for the 2019 season which gets underway on December 30th in Brisbane. Stosur has been eliminated in the first round of the tournament in each of the last two stagings, and she’ll be determined to reach the latter stages of the competition this time around. Despite a disappointing season, Stosur isn’t hanging up her racquet just yet and is determined to come back stronger in 2019.