Sam Stosur stalking walls and keeping fit in lockdown

Sam Stosur has felt sheepish on more than one occasion in recent weeks.

Sam Stosur: ‘Any sort of play for us in whatever format would be amazing’. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Sam Stosur has felt sheepish on more than one occasion in recent weeks.

Desperate for a hit of tennis, the former US Open champion has been scouring her neighbourhood in Melbourne’s inner-north looking for a brick wall to practise against.

“I feel like a dodgy person, driving around the streets slowly, looking out the window. I must look like a weirdo,” Stosur told The Australian.

Renowned as one of the fittest players in women’s tennis, Stosur has been able to retain her condition with twice-daily training sessions in a makeshift gym and regular running.

But similar to her peers, Stosur has been forced to adapt when it comes to keeping her eye in during the coronavirus closure, with tennis courts generally shut.

A brick wall at a nearby primary school initially proved useful, until the school gates were locked.

On Friday, she had a session on a synthetic-grass court in the backyard of Fed Cup teammate Arina Rodionova.

“It is a short baseline and you can’t move that much, but it is good to keep your eye in and have a bit of fun,” Stosur said.

“It is more than what we thought we would actually be able to do, anyway.”

Stosur was aiming to become a five-time Olympian in July, but is instead facing the prospect of shivering through a Melbourne winter having relocated to Victoria in recent years.

The 36-year-old spent a couple of wintry months in Melbourne when she was recovering from a broken hand that cruelled her hopes at the French Open in 2017. But otherwise she has chased the sun on the circuit for the best part of 20 years and is approaching the coming months with some trepidation, though she has used the time to settle into the house she bought late last year.

“Being from Queensland, let’s face it, it isn’t quite the same thing, but I am better equipped now that I have been here for a while,” she said.

“But I’m pretty good, not too bad at all, actually.

“I’ve actually been cooking heaps and spending time in the garden, so I have not been bored for one second.

“When you are doing two training sessions a day … I don’t know how I would fit anything else in.”

Stosur has her doubts as to whether it will be possible for the international circuit to resume at all in 2020, given the current health crisis has closed borders around the world.

The European claycourt and the entire grasscourt swing have already been cancelled and there are significant doubts surrounding the North American hardcourt circuit, with the Canadian Open in Montreal in August the latest tournament to fall by the wayside.

USTA chief executive Mike Dowse said on Thursday that while “time is on our side, at this point”, it was doubtful the US Open would be played in September if fans were not allowed to attend.

Stosur believes tennis will resume on a domestic basis initially and says the state-of-origin concept proposed by John Millman this week has merit.

“Any sort of play for us in whatever format would be amazing,” she said.

“We have that many good players in Australia now that you really could do something really cool.”