Stosur to miss Australian Open
As we get closer, I expect the list of players who are injured and unable to compete in the AO to increase…
Stosur announced on Christmas Eve that she could not play at her home event - the Australian Women’s Hardcourts on the Gold Coast starting on Sunday.
She will also miss the Sydney International a week later and then the Australian Open in Melbourne, which starts on January 14.
“It was a very tough decision - it stressed me out for a couple of days and I spoke to a lot of people,” she said.
“But they all thought I was doing the right thing, which backed up my own thinking.
“It’s not a smart move to play when I’m nowhere near 100 per cent, to be out there competing. As much as I want to play, I’m not going to risk my whole season.”
Stosur has been gradually rebuilding her strength and speed but she knew about a week ago that she was losing the battle to contemplate three tournaments in succession.
“I was hitting up (last week) and thinking, ‘I really should be playing sets now and starting some practice matches’ and I just knew I totally wasn’t ready for that,” she said.
“It’s a different story to be working on your fitness as opposed to being ready to play tournaments at this level.”
From the outset of her diagnosis, doctors told her to take it slowly.
“I probably need an extra four to eight weeks to be where I want to be and I don’t have that time right now,” Stosur said.
“If I did go out and push it and put myself under that kind of stress, physically and mentally, I might be fine, but I might not.
“It’s not a risk I want to take right now.”
But rather than return to her northern hemisphere base in Florida, Stosur will remain at the Gold Coast. She is unsure of her exact tournament return, but it could be in March. That would definitely rule out the Fed Cup zonal play-offs in Thailand, which start on January 29. The Australian