As Sam Stosur was approaching her 60th and final Billie Jean King Cup rubber as a player, the opportunity to send the Culture Amp Australian Billie Jean King Cup team to its second final this century beckoned.
Competing as the No.1 seed in the 2022 edition world team competition, Australia’s first Billie Jean King Cup title in 48 years was tantalisingly within reach. However, they needed to overcome their semifinal hurdle in host nation Great Britain, which had not lost to Australia since 1977.
> TICKETS: Get tickets to Australia's Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier on Ticketek
Two days after Stosur paired with Storm Hunter to defeat Belgians Ysaline Bonaventure and Kirsten Flipkens 6-3 6-4 in the round-robin stage, she was summoned to play doubles again. This time, it was to send Australia into the final against Switzerland, which had swept Czechia in the other semifinal.
History was on the side of Stosur, who had amassed a 9-1 doubles win-loss record throughout her 16-year career in the green and gold. Along with four Grand Slam doubles crowns, it was evident the 38-year-old was equipped to tackle the challenge.
Hunter, who again partnered Stosur, helped Australia to an early lead following her singles rubber, having overcome a leg injury to claim a straight-sets victory over Heather Watson.
In a tense three-set battle, Stosur and Hunter’s experience proved crucial in the key moments as they held firm to triumph 7-6(1) 6-7(5) [10-6] against British pair Alicia Barnett and Olivia Nicholls.
> READ: Australia storms into Billie Jean King Cup final
After securing her 39th BJK Cup victory across singles and doubles – only second behind Wendy Turnbull (46) for the Australian player with the most total wins in the competition – Stosur looked back fondly on that rubber. four years later
“I loved every minute of playing in that match against the Brits. Stormy and I actually played really well together, considering we’d never played together before [the BJK Cup Finals],” she told tennis.com.au.
“That match with Storm was certainly a highlight and making two finals in recent years.”
Apart from sending Australia back to the final for the first time since 2019, Stosur also left the door ajar for a fairytale ending to her representative career.
“You definitely dream that you’re going to have that fairytale finish. I guess that’s what everyone wants, but I think very few players actually end up getting that,” she said. “Even some of the greatest, Roger [Federer] and Serena {Williams], I’m sure they wish they had a bit more of a fairytale ending, but didn’t quite win the last tournament they played in.
“It was a really great way, albeit not winning the final, to finish my BJK Cup playing career.”
Despite falling to Switzerland in the final, Stosur uses the loss as an added incentive to rewrite history as team captain, a role she acquired in December 2023.
“It gives me a little extra bit of motivation now as captain to try and get that done for our players," she said.
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2022 Billie Jean King Cup Semifinals
Australia d Great Britain 2-1
Emirates Arena, Glasgow, United Kingdom
12 November 2022
Storm Hunter (AUS) d Heather Watson (GBR) 6-4 7-6(3)
Harriet Dart (GBR) d Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) 7-6(3) 6-2
Storm Hunter (AUS)/Sam Stosur (AUS) d Alicia Barnett (GBR)/Olivia Nicholls (GBR) 7-6(1) 6-7(5) [10-6]