French Open semifinalist Samantha Stosur has parted ways with her coach David Taylor following her run in Paris and will play at Wimbledon without a coach. The separation has been in the works for five months, as the pair agreed to separate following the Australian. Stosur has announced that she will not be hiring a new coach until after the grass court season.
Amicable split
This marks the end of Taylor and Stosur’s second stint together. Taylor initially coached Stosur from 2008 to 2013, leading the Aussie to her first major final at the French Open in 2010, before she broke through to win her lone career major title in at the 2011 US Open. They split in 2013, but after several poor seasons for Stosur, they reunited and Stosur has benefitted greatly, experience improved results, most recently her first semifinal run at a major since 2012.
The reason for the split is person reasons for Taylor, rather than a conflict between the two. Taylor wants to spend more time with his family in Europe, while Stosur is based out of the US when she’s not travelling on the tour.
No successor in sight
Stosur has said that she does not have a new coach lined up and will not hire a new coach until after Wimbledon. "No, I don't have anyone else lined up. So at the moment I'm going to the grass solo," Stosur told the media in Paris.
After the success at the French Open, the Aussie was asked whether she might consider finding a way to make things work with Taylor, to which she responded, "we haven't spoken about continuing or anything like that. This was the decision made after the Australian Open, so, yeah, I don't know. Unless he's got a surprise for me, that's still I think what's going on."
Stosur will go it alone at Wimbledon, which has historically been her worst major. In 13 previous appearances, she has never made it past the third round.