Sam Stosur is to call time on her career at the end of the Australian Open ©Getty Images

US Open women's singles champion and seven-time doubles Grand Slam winner Sam Stosur, is to end her career in her home nation, with the 2023 Australian Open set to be her final tournament as a professional player.

The 38-year-old said she always wanted to finish in Australia, calling it a "tough decision", but "the right one".

"It was always going to be a hard decision whenever it did come to this point," said Stosur at a press conference.

"Like I said last year when I stopped playing singles, I always wanted to finish here in Australia. 

"Last year I wasn't ready to finish everything.

"It just felt right to call it a day here, my home Grand Slam where obviously I have huge support and friends and family, lots of people here. 

"It's certainly been a tough decision, but I think it was the right one."

Alizé Cornet and Sam Stosur are to partner at the Australian Open ©Getty Images
Alizé Cornet and Sam Stosur are to partner at the Australian Open ©Getty Images

Stosur is set to team with France's Alizé Cornet - who reached the Australian Open singles quarter-finals last year - with their opening match being against 11th seeds Chan Hao-Ching of Chinese Taipei and Yang Zhaozhuan of China on Wednesday (January 18).

Her crowning achievement as a singles player was at the 2011 US Open, where she defeated American tennis icon Serena Williams in straight sets 6-2, 6-3.

The previous year, she made the final of the French Open, but lost to Italian Francesca Schiavone.

She reached a career-high singles ranking of world number four in February 2011.

At last year's Australian Open, Stosur retired from singles tennis following a second-round defeat to 11th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Sam Stosur won the US Open in 2011 ©Getty Images
Sam Stosur won the US Open in 2011 ©Getty Images

Despite her professional career coming to an end, the Australian stressed she wants to remain in the sport.

"I definitely want to stay in tennis," Stosur added. 

"It's been my whole life. 

"I couldn't imagine not coming into the National Training Centre in a month's time or something like that.

"I'm too passionate about it, too invested in what all the other players are doing to just walk away."

She was as accomplished in women's doubles tennis, becoming world number one in 2006 and winning the 2005 US Open and 2006 French Open with partner Lisa Raymond.

Stosur added the 2019 Australian Open and 2021 US Open to her repertoire with Zhang Shuai from China.

She has three mixed doubles Grand Slams to her name too - the 2005 Australian Open with compatriot Scott Draper; the 2008 Wimbledon with American Bob Bryan and the 2014 Wimbledon Championship with Serbian Nenad Zimonjić.