Bio

Sam’s story Sam took up tennis at the age of eight after a friend gave her a tennis racquet for Christmas. She used to hit at the local courts with her brother, Daniel. He soon realised she had above-average ability and convinced their parents, Dianne and Tony, to give Sam coaching lessons. She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. At 14 she joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters and in 2001 ,when she was 16, Sam joined the Australian Institute of Sport’s tennis program. She formed a successful coaching partnership with Craig Morris, travelling together on the WTA Tour. Craig has played a huge role in Sam’s tennis, both on the court and off. He remains a close personal friend. Sam’s break came at the Australian Open in 2006 when she reached the fourth round – her best singles result at a Grand Slam tournament up until that point. Solid results took her to a then career-high No.27 in January 2007. She has had great success in doubles, rising to world No.1 in February 2006 after claiming a series of titles. With her doubles partner Lisa Raymond, they won the US Open in 2005, were runners up at the 2006 Australian Open and won the French Open. In 2007, this consistently successful pair won five titles and made it to the semis at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. Sam won her maiden Grand Slam mixed doubles crown at the Australian Open in 2005 with fellow Queenslander Scott Draper and her second at Wimbledon 2008 with Bob Bryan. But it was in 2009 when Sam truly came into her own in the singles arena. The year began with a third-round appearance at the Australian Open, was highlighted by a semifinals berth at the French Open – Sam’s best effort at a Grand Slam to date – and culminated with her maiden singles title in Osaka. Other highlights included quarterfinals berths at Miami and Toronto, a semifinals appearance at Stanford, and a final at Los Angeles. In 2009 Sam became renowned for her serve, which is now considered one of the best on the women’s tour, while her year-end ranking of No.13 is within touching distance of the top 10. On the doubles court, Sam paired with Fed Cup teammate Rennae Stubbs to make the final at Wimbledon, Eastbourne and Toronto, the semis at the US Open, Dubai, Madrid and the Tour Championships in Qatar, and the quarters at Miami. Sam's latest season on the tour has seen her break into the top 5, make it to her first Grand Slam tournament final at Roland Garros and win a second title, at Charleston. She has been a member of the Optus Australian Fed Cup team since 2003 and is coached by the team’s captain, David Taylor. In her downtime, Sam likes going to the beach, hanging out with friends, surfing and listening to music.

The facts

Born: 30 March 1984 Birthplace: Brisbane, Australia Lives: Tampa, Florida Star sign: Aries Weight: 65 kg Height: 175 cm Plays: Right-handed Coach: David Taylor Family: Mother, Diane, father Tony, brothers Dominic and Daniel Nickname: Sammy

A few of Sam's favourite things

Country: Japan Food: Paris on Pumpernickel (sandwich from Wrights in Tampa) City: Sydney Restaurant: Inakaya, Tokyo Drink: Lemon, Lime, bitters TV show: Brothers and Sisters, Seinfeld, Grey’s Anatomy Football teams: AFL - Saints, NRL - Titans Top 3 movies: Notting Hill, Anchor Man and Love Actually Things you can’t live without: Lip Balm, Passport and Tennis racquets Dislikes: - Take off and landing on flights, especially little planes - Reading maps What would you spend your last $10 on? Lip Balm Most used Apps: - Bejeweled Blitz - Bloomberg 5 people you would like to have dinner with: - Steffi Graf - Nelson Mandela - Homer Simpson - Sheryl Crow - Jerry Seinfeld Language you would like to learn: Spanish What music do you like? - Kate Miller-Heidke - MGMT - Sheryl Crow Red or white wine? Red Chocolate or ice-cream? Both Iphone or blackberry? Use blackberry but think iphone is cooler Coca-cola or pepsi? Coca-cola Memorable moments from your first few years on the tour? Sleeping in a train station in Japan with other players and strapping all our bags together so they wouldn’t get stolen. Using blankets from hotel rooms and pillows from airlines.  The things you do to make it on the tour A place in the world you would like to visit? Machu Picchu, Peru Best sporting moment other than yours? Cathy Freeman 400m gold at the Sydney Olympics If you were an animal what would it be? Happy Dog Favourite car? Porsche 911 Things your most afraid off? Flying and deer ticks carrying Lyme disease Favourite beach? Coogee, Sydney Things you like doing away from tennis? Mountain bike riding, snorkelling and eating. Favourite tournament? Charleston, SC, USA

Career Highlights

Singles Winner (2) 2010 Charleston 2009 Osaka 2001 ITF/Ibaraki, Japan ITF/Osaka, Japan ITF/Kyoto, Japan ITF/Cairns, Australia Finalist (7) 2010 Stuttgart, Roland Garros 2009 Los Angeles 2008 Seoul 2006 Prague 2005 Gold Coast, Sydney Doubles Winner (22) 2007 Tokyo, Indian Wells, Miami, Berlin, Eastbourne (all w/Lisa Raymond) 2006 Tokyo, Memphis, Indian Wells, Miami, Charleston, Roland Garros, Stuttgart, Linz, Hasselt, Tour Championships (all w/Lisa Raymond) 2005 Sydney, Amelia Island (both w/Bryanne Stewart), New Haven, US Open, Luxembourg, Moscow, Tour Championships (all w/Lisa Raymond) 2002 ITF/Bendigo-AUS, ITF/Warrnambool-AUS, ITF/Bath-GBR, ITF/Dalby-AUS (all w/Sarah Stone), ITF/Lenzerheide-SUI (w/Nicole Sewell) 2001 ITF/Benalla-AUS (w/Monique Adamczak), ITF/Ibaraki-JPN, ITF/Osaka-JPN, ITF/Kyoto-JPN (all w/Melissa Dowse), ITF/Nuriootpa-AUS, ITF/Mount Gambier-AUS (both w/Evie Dominikovic) Finalist (12) 2010 Indian Wells, Miami (both w/Nadia Petrova) 2009 Wimbledon, Eastbourne, Toronto (all w/Rennae Stubbs) 2008 Wimbledon, US Open, Tokyo (Pan Pacific) (all w/Lisa Raymond) 2006 Australian Open, New Haven (both w/Lisa Raymond) 2005 Philadelphia (w/Lisa Raymond) 2004 Québec City (w/Els Callens). Mixed Doubles Winner (2) 2008 Wimbledon (w/Bob Bryan) 2005 Australian Open (w/Scott Draper) Representation Australian Fed Cup Team 2003-05, 2007, 2009, 2010 Australian Olympic Team 2004, 2008 Awards 2005 Stars for Stars Doubles Team of the Year (w/Lisa Raymond) 2005 ITF World Women's Doubles Champions (w/Lisa Raymond) 2006 Stars for Stars Doubles Team of the Year (w/Lisa Raymond)

Grand Slam history

Win-Loss 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Australian Open 9-7 4r 3r - 2r 4r 1r 2r 3r 1r
French Open 9-6 F SF 2r 3r 1r 2r 1r - -
Wimbledon 5-7 1r 3r 2r 2r 2r 1r 1r 1r -
US Open 2-6 2r - 1r 1r 1r 2r - -

Year-end singles ranking history

2009 13
2008 52
2007 46
2006 29
2005 46
2004 65
2003 153
2002 265
2001 276
2000 682