Stosur announced her singles retirement after the 2022 Australian Open, and now at the age of 38, she is at ease to be her "doubles mother". The reason why she kept her doubles mouth is said to be because of Zhang Shuai's gracious invitation, who looked forward to joining forces with her to attack the women's doubles championships at the French Open and Wimbledon in order to achieve a full slam in women's doubles.
But the reality is very harsh, the 38-year-old Stosur's competitive state has slipped too obviously, even in the doubles arena, she has not been able to do it. Zhang Shuai is very diligent and hardworking, but in the end, he cannot achieve a hearty victory in the situation of "one dozen three" - the North American Sunshine Double, she and Stosur suffered two consecutive defeats.
On March 27, in the first round of the women's doubles of the WTA1000 Miami Open, Zhang Shuai/Stosur, the No. 3 seed, was weak in his succession, losing both sets at the end of the set, and finally lost to Yang Zhaoxuan/Alexandrova 4-6, 4-6. To know that the latter is only a temporary substitution of the combination, Zhang Shuai / Stosur lost to the opponent, it can be seen that its competitiveness is indeed not very large.
In the previous Indian Wells station, Zhang Shuai/Stosur was the No. 2 seed, but was reversed by Koné/Fernandez 1-2 in the first round. Koone and Fernandez are two masters of singles, and it is rare to get together to play doubles, and the tacit understanding is far less than that of Zhang Shuai/Stosur, but they stole the victory.
In the two back-to-back defeats, Stosur was the underperforming side, and the "old" she not only suffered losses in the bottom line, but even the previously excellent net front could not take advantage. With the progress of time, Stosur's state will only deteriorate, Zhang Shuairuo has been paired with it, and There is no drama at all for Fa and Wen to win the championship.
However, Zhang Shuai could not have parted ways with Stosur. First, she missed the old love. She thought about retiring at her lowest point, and it was Storcer who told her to hold on for another year, only to break through the window paper of her first Grand Slam singles victory and win two women's doubles Grand Slam titles. Second, it was she who pulled the originally thoroughly prepared Stosur to continue the match.
However, it is estimated that Zhang Shuai simply cannot imagine that Stosur, who can still partner with him to win the championship in the 2021 US Open, has dropped so rapidly. Perhaps, the singles retirement has made Stosur exhale the breath in his chest, and he can't continue to devote himself to training and competition.
Some people may say that the Zhang Shuai/Stosur combination was originally a nerve knife, and before winning the US Open last year, the two also lost around the world. But don't forget that at that time, Stosur was more or less tied to singles (even if it was only a little), and now she is only encouraging and insisting on her agreement with Zhang Shuai.
Either way, look forward to the pair, which adds up to over 71 years old, to win some games. Veterans are not easy, bless them!
——Pay attention to the small fish and feel the temperature of sports.