Sam Stosur comes out of retirement for the Strasbourg International
Australian champion Sam Stosur stunned the tennis community by coming out of retirement for a one-time appearance at the Strasbourg International on Sunday.
Last year, Stosur announced that the 2022 Australian Open would be her last, with the Queenslander deciding to focus solely on doubles after the Melbourne-based Grand Slam tournament, where she was eliminated by Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round.
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“A big thank you to @tennisaustralia for giving me this opportunity to end my singles career in my home Grand Slam,” she posted on Instagram in December.
“It really means a lot to me to be able to finish in front of my family, my friends and the Australian fans who have supported me through thick and thin.
“I’m sure it will be a mix of emotions but I wouldn’t want it to be any other way as I always thought I would finish playing in Australia. I do however plan to play the rest of the year in double but that will close the first chapter of my career.
But tennis pundits were left baffled when the 38-year-old appeared in the draw for the clay-court tournament in France, where she faced local star Harmony Tan in the round of 16 – the 1,064th singles match of her career professional.
“I didn’t think I would do this again until two days ago,” she posted on Instagram on Sunday.
“Pleasant sensations and emotions to play on this singles court again.”
Stosur suffered a 6-2 6-1 loss in a row, with Tan advancing to the round of 16 where she will face Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska.
Speaking to reporters after the loss, Stosur explained that event organizers were looking for someone to replace a late retirement.
The 2010 US Open champion had previously won the Strasbourg singles tournament in 2015 and 2017.
“If Roland Garros calls me and says, ‘Do you want to play?’ of course,” she laughed.
“But no, my time for singles is over.
“It wasn’t a singles comeback, it was just a good opportunity.
“It was good, it was fun, considering I didn’t know I was competing here until a few days ago.
“Of course, I was a little nervous. I guess I didn’t do a lot of things when I wasn’t fully prepared.
“So coming in here was a tough scenario, but I was mostly excited to have another chance to play singles in a place where I’ve been very successful and had a lot of fun.
“Overall, I hit the ball very well – I hit some balls like it was five years ago, when the ball was going exactly where I wanted it! But on other points, she was rocking me from side to side and it was hard.
Stosur will also take part in the tournament’s doubles draw, facing Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk on Tuesday at 23:45 AEST.