Stosur set for fifth WTA Finals appearance in doubles

Sam Stosur will carry Australian hopes at the WTA Finals this week, competing in doubles alongside China's Zhang Shuai.


Tuesday 09 November 2021
Leigh Rogers
Guadalajara, Mexico
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Samantha Stosur (R) of Australia and Shuai Zhang (L) of China celebrate winning the first set against Coco Gauff of the United States and Catherine McNally of the United States during their Women's Doubles final match on Day Fourteen of the 2021 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 12, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.  (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Sam Stosur returns to the tour this week, competing alongside China's Zhang Shuai at the WTA Finals in Mexico.

Stosur and Zhang were the fifth team to qualify for this year's season-ending championships. They compiled an 11-2 win-loss record together in 2021, scooping titles at the US Open and Cincinnati.

These efforts helped world No.24 Stosur qualify for the WTA Finals in doubles for the fifth time in her stellar career. The 37-year-old is a two-time champion at the event, having previously claimed the prestigious title alongside American Lisa Raymond in 2005 and 2006.

Sam Stosur's WTA Finals doubles record
YearPartnerResult
2005Lisa Raymond (USA)Champions
2006Lisa Raymond (USA)Champions
2009Rennae Stubbs (AUS)Semifinals
2019Zhang Shuai (CHN)Semifinals
2021Zhang Shuai (CHN)TBC

Stosur has also competed at the WTA Finals in singles on three occasions, in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Stosur and Zhang, who were semifinalists at the most recent edition of the WTA Finals in 2019, have landed in the 'Tenochtitlan Group' for the round-robin stage of the 2021 tournament.

The top two performing teams in this group advance to knockout semifinals.

Tenochtitlan Group
SeedTeam
2Shuko Aoyama (JPN)/Ena Shibahara (JPN)
4Demi Schuurs (NED)/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)
5Sam Stosur (AUS)/Zhang Shuai (CHN)
7Darija Jurak (CRO)/Andreja Klepac (SLO)

> VIEW: Full WTA Finals draw


The WTA Finals begin in Guadalajara later this week.

World No.1 Ash Barty qualified for the singles competition, where she is the defending champion, but is not competing. The 25-year-old withdrew from the tournament last month, choosing to focus on preparing for the Australian summer.

> READ: Barty sets sights on 2022 season