Sam Stosur’s refusal to represent her country in this weekend’s Fed Cup is a stone-cold snub to those who have nurtured her career and given her the opportunity to play tennis professionally.
Instead of opting to don the green and gold, Stosur remained in Europe to continue her preparation for the claycourt season and battle to retain her top-10 WTA ranking.
While Stosur has been a loyal servant to Australia in the past (32 matches in 19 ties since 2003), her absence in Melbourne has effectively cost her country its place in the World Group.
Jarmila Groth (ranked 30) and Anastasia Rodionova (72) battled valiantly at Glen Iris in Melbourne’s inner-east, but went down 2-3 overall at the hands of Lesia Tsurenko (131) and Olga Savchuk (144), despite holding two match points in Sunday’s deciding doubles.
There is little doubt that had the world No. 6 made the trip, the outcome would be vastly different.
People can and will point to Stosur’s right to set her own schedule. There is of course no contractual obligation to play Fed Cup, but Australia should expect and receive more from our best player in a time of need.
What about the years and dollars that Tennis Australia has invested in Stosur’s development? Shouldn’t there be an expectation that players make themselves available for international team events whenever possible?
Adding murkiness to the discussion is the fact that Australia’s Fed Cup coach, Dave Taylor, moonlights as Sam Stosur’s personal coach – or is that the other way around? How did Tennis Australia allow this conflict of interest to occur?
It’s akin to Sir Alex Ferguson managing England and deciding to withdraw Wayne Rooney from the squad just prior to an important Manchester United game. There would be outrage, and rightly so.
I don’t doubt Taylor’s credentials as a coach or a team manager, but the current situation is a farce. It lacks transparency and creates a questionable perception of Tennis Australia.
The national team coach should not be in a position where he’s defending the right of Australia’s best player not to play in the Fed Cup.
As previously mentioned, Stosur has been a tremendously loyal servant at international level throughout her career. But you’d really hope that she could have jumped on a plane and returned home for a couple of days to guarantee Australia’s World Group status and do her bit for the sport that’s helped her earn more than $6 million, not including endorsements, by age 27.
At the end of the day, perhaps Australia is simply a victim of circumstance. Of the nine Fed Cup ties played this weekend, this was the only one to be contested outside Europe, with a tenth tie for Japan postponed.
More accurately however, Australia is a victim of complacency. Speaking to the media in Melbourne on Sunday evening, Taylor said, “You’re a point away from competing for the Fed Cup and now we’re fighting for our Fed Cup lives again. We’re one point away.”
“If Sam comes back in the team, Jarka keeps improving, wow, you’re a chance to win the whole Fed Cup, now we’re just trying to get back in the World Group. So one point can mean the difference in that, and that’s very hard to accept at this stage, but we don’t have an option other than to regroup.”
If that’s not living proof that the age-old adage of taking it ‘one match at a time’ isn’t true, then I don’t know what is. Sure. Australia might have been a chance to vie for the whole damn thing, but now we’re out.
Forget about Rodionova failing to win a rubber all weekend and forget about blown match points in the concluding doubles; this tie was lost at the selection table by not insisting that Stosur show up.
KNACKERS
Guest
I'd much prefer Stosur to win a major than for Australia to win the Fed Cup ..but that's me .. You measure individual sports by individual results Why is everyone on this blog SO obsessed about national teams ..are you all teenage private school boys eager to sing the national anthem ?
Jim
Guest
So let me get this straight. What you're saying is that Sam has unswervingly served her country in the Fed Cup throughout her career, so that her loyalty should be unquestionable, but you're going to question it anyway? The suggestion that Taylor has abused his double position to favour his pupil is equally unsupported by anything except your innuendo. There might be a case for replacing him as captain (poor results despite having pretty good players at his disposal) but a potential conflict of interest shouldn't figure in that decision. In a small tennis community like Australia's I think you'll be hard pressed to find a replacement with no strong personal ties to any of the team.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
Whatever your opinion on Stosur's decision, nobody can deny that it's been an utterly dismal year for the Australians at international team events. Malibu is 100% right in saying that our Davis Cup hopes were all but extinguished with Lleyton Hewitt's withdrawal. Yes, the Belgian men's team is still very strong, but we had it there for the taking. Hewitt will be a fine Davis Cup captain one day, but even the best leader in the world can't succeed without the troops to marshall. But I digress...
Malibu77
Guest
A disappointing result for so many reasons - Stosur's no show, the fact that it couldn't be played in Europe despite both teams wishes, Rodionova's losses, the doubles teams heartbreaking loss, and the lack of TV coverage. The 7 network will show Aus vs Belgium in Cairns in the Davis Cup (ie mens tennis) but nothing of the women. Nor the ABC (who I thought were committed to womens sport), nor Fox. Again, very disappointing. Ironically that tie in Cairns was lost when Lleyton Hewitt was injured and coulnd't play the reverse singles. The mens team rely on one player. So too the women, its either Sam Stosur or in her absence Jarmila Groth. But one player does not make a team. On the positive side, Groth was on fire!. Lets hope she can keep this form up during the upcoming months on the European clay.
Patrick Angel
Roar Guru
I'd prefer her to train to try and put Australians on better rankings personally. We won't do well anyway, and if she ractises her clay court while others are playing in the Fed cuo, she could be a decent shot. Possibility of silverware against a Fed Cup we have no chance of winning, I reckon she made the right decision, for herself and Australia.
amazonfan
Roar Guru
"and probably Wimbledon although Novak might disagree." I don't think Djokovic has much hope of ever winning Wimbledon. Nadal probably will win it, but only because he won't have much competition, with Federer unlikely to win another slam. Still, if Federer were to raise his level to that approaching a couple years ago, then I think he would be a massive chance to win.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
G'Day Pius. Anyone who knows anything about me will be aware of the fact that I live and breathe all sports. I follow almost anything, but will probably focus more on tennis, rugby union and the United States. Still, if I can find an angle about anything at all (and have the time), I'll put pen to paper. Sam has one of the best serves in the game, but I worry about her consistency and mental strength. She can be utterly brilliant one day, yet lackadaisical the next. The one thing that epite sports men and women have in common is their ability to be great for a sustained period of time. Sure, there will be the odd blip on the form radar, but rarely for weeks at a time which is what we've seen with Sam of late. I'd like to see her bring a bit more passion into her game. Not quite Lleyton Hewitt levels of fist pumping and yelling, but a step up from her cool, calm demeanor at present. Of course we can all have an opinion (and Sam can play the game however she wishes), but you get the sense that a 'quiet determination' is sometimes not enough. I hope she 'sticks it up us' by going one better at Roland Garros this year :)
Pius Silver
Guest
Alistair - happy to read that you'll be covering other sports. Which ones? As for an Aussie winning an important tourney Sam has a great kick serve and a good forehand but that's not gonna be enough. Some players show promise but can't make that final step which is not surprising in womens tennis as there's never been a bigger array of European/Russian talent than there is today. With the Williams girls all but gone from the scene, and Andy Roddick the top ranked US male, American tennis seems to have gone the way of Aussie tennis. Rafa will win the Italian if he plays it, Paris for sure and probably Wimbledon although Novak might disagree.
Sime Kinniburgh
Guest
I'm not convinced this throws as much pressure on Sam as it does Dave Taylor. Taylor has now held the Fed Cup coaching role for 5 years. In that time he's made a lot of statements, but never really delivered on them. I agree with you that Tennis Australia should ask him to make the choice. Do you want to be Sam's coach OR Fed Cup captain - because you can't be both. The right person in my eyes is Alicia Molik. Now 30, she can't be too far away from her second retirement. She has all the attributes you'd want in a Fed cup captain, and understands the environment better than most.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
You put forth a compelling case Sime. Great points, but is ITF folly a legitimate excuse for Stosur to bypass the tie, or is it a convenient excuse to justify her absence? I agree 100% that Groth and Rodionova should have easily got the job done, but TA's failure to insist upon Stosur making the trip cost Australia the tie. I also don't think Taylor's position as Fed Cup coach AND Stosur's coach is tenable. As mentioned in my article, I have nothing against his coaching or management ability, but think it's a too much of a conflict of interest. It's a shocking look when the team boss is justifying the decision of his best player not to turn up. The pressure is now well and truly on Stosur to perform in Europe in the next fortnight...
Sime Kinniburgh
Guest
I don't blame Sam Stosur here. If I put myself in her shoes, I see a number of valid reasons as to why she doesn't turn up to represent her country. Let's start with the obvious...the ITF rules. Dave Taylor tried to get this tie played in Spain. The Ukrainians gave that the green light, but the ITF disallowed it. On to the Ukrainians...their two best players in Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko pulled out prior to Stosur announcing her intentions. Furthermore, the tie was played at the Glen Iris Valley Recreation Club in Mount Waverley. Nothing against that club who have very nice clay courts, but does the world number 5 really need to travel to Australia only weeks out from the French Open to play Lesia Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk with WTF Rankings of 136 and 147? My answer to that is no. Not when her replacements in Jarmila Groth (No. 29) and Anastasia Rodionova (No. 74) should have ended the tie with the singles rubbers. It's disappointing to see both mens and womens teams not represented in the main group of international teams competition. However perhaps if the ITF had more empathy to the constraints of the ATP and WTA tours, then we wouldn't be having this debate.
Alistair Hogg
Roar Pro
Thanks for the feedback Pius - it's much appreciated. I'm planning to cover a number of sports, so it's a nice coincidence that tennis happened to be the subject of my first three articles. While there may not be a lot of tennis chatter, I actually think most Australians prefer watching the likes of Nadal and Federer than they do our own countrymen (and women) - and who can really blame them at this point in time? I'd like to be optimistic, but Australian tennis is probably at its lowest ebb since the pre-Rafter/Hewitt days. I'm not sure where the problem lies, but with the exception of Stosur, we have nobody who can realstically compete for a Major. That's not good enough when tennis is among the top five participation sports in the country (despite a very alarming drop of 21% over the last decade). Source: 2009 ERASS Report
Pius Silver
Guest
I admire your writing on tennis Alistair and I'm greatly sorry that there's so little interest in the sport on this forum. A couple of weeks back the final between Djokovic and Nadal at Key Biscayne was a great, great match. Yet there wasn't a word about it on The Roar. Until we get an Aussie or a Kiwi who wins an important tourney things won't change much. Sorry to be so gloomy but with a lot of people its the flag first, the sport second.