Sydney, (Samajweekly) 2011 US Open champion and former doubles world no.1 Samantha Stosur stated that she will take the rest of 2020 off after her partner gave birth to the couple’s first child last month.
The 36-year-old is eyeing a comeback to the court next year however.
“With the schedule coming up, with COVID, with quarantine and with all the other things that you’re going to have to deal with, Ia¿ve decided that I’m going to take the rest of the year off,” Stosur was quoted as saying by Tennis Australia
“I’m going to stay here, enjoy being with my family, go through all those little milestones that Evie is going to have in the next six months and just really enjoy being home.”
Stosur thus became the first big name from Australia to officially announce that she won’t be taking part in the US Open this year. World no.1 Ashleigh Barty had earlier expressed concerns about the tournament being held amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as did men’s star Nick Kyrgios.
“Many players have done this same thing and I think the resounding comment is aI actually played better and I enjoy it’ and you come off the court and you don’t worry about whether that was a bad loss, or whatever happened on court,” she said.
“You go out there and all that matters is being with them. I think that’s certainly going to be the case for me.
“Probably help relax me a little bit more as well because there is something bigger and essentially more important than that one tennis match that you’ve just played.
“It’s making sure that theya¿re okay and you want to be with them.
“I’m actually looking forward to that prospect and being able to play, do my job, come home or if we’re on the road travelling, and enjoy those moments with her because I think thata¿s something that’s going to be very special.”
