Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson

Type	Publicly traded Aktiebolag
Traded as	OMX: ERIC B, NASDAQ: ERIC
Industry	Communications equipment
Founded	Stockholm, Sweden (1876)
Founder(s)	Lars Magnus Ericsson
Headquarters	Kista, Stockholm, Sweden,European Union
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Leif Johansson (Chairman), Hans Vestberg (President and CEO), Jacob Wallenberg (Deputy Chairman), Sverker Martin-Löf (Deputy Chairman)
Products	Mobile and fixed broadband networks, consultancy and managed services, multimedia technology
Revenue	SEK 226.9 billion (2011)[1]
Operating income	SEK 21.7 billion (2011)[1]
Profit	SEK 12.6 billion (2011)[1]
Total assets	SEK 280.3 billion (end 2011)[1]
Total equity	SEK 143.1 billion (end 2011)[1]
Employees	104,525 (end 2011)[1]
Subsidiaries	ST-Ericsson (50%) LG-Ericsson (75%)
Website	Ericsson.com

Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson) (OMX: ERIC B, NASDAQ: ERIC), one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunications equipment and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks. Ericsson is currently the world's largest mobile telecommunications equipment vendor with a market share of 35%.

Directly and through subsidiaries, Ericsson also has a major role in mobile devices and cable TV and IPTV systems. Ericsson was also the inventor of Bluetooth.

Founded in 1876 as a telegraph equipment repair shop by Lars Magnus Ericsson, it was incorporated on August 18, 1918. Headquartered in Kista, Stockholm Municipality, since 2003, Ericsson is considered part of the so-called "Wireless Valley". Since the mid-1990s, Ericsson's extensive presence in Stockholm has helped transform the city into one of Europe's hubs of information technology (IT) research. Ericsson has offices and operations in more than 180 countries, with more than 17,700 staff in Sweden, and also significant presences in, for example, Brazil, China, Finland, India, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, the UK and the US.

In the early 20th century, Ericsson dominated the world market for manual telephone exchanges but was late to introduce automatic equipment. The world's largest ever manual telephone exchange, serving 60,000 lines, was installed by Ericsson in Moscow in 1916. Throughout the 1990s, Ericsson held a 35–40% market share of installed cellular telephone systems. Like most of the telecommunications industry, Ericsson suffered heavy losses after the telecommunications crash in the early 2000s, and had to lay off tens of thousands of staff worldwide in an attempt to manage the financial situation, returning to profit by the mid-2000s.

History[link]

Foundation[link]

Lars Magnus Ericsson

Lars Magnus Ericsson began his association with telephones in his youth as an instrument maker. He worked for a firm which made telegraph equipment for the Swedish government agency Telegrafverket. In 1876, aged 30, he started a telegraph repair shop with help from his friend Carl Johan Andersson. The shop was in central Stockholm (No. 15 on Drottninggatan, the principal shopping street) and repaired foreign-made telephones. In 1878 Ericsson began making and selling his own telephone equipment. His phones were not technically innovative, as most of the inventions had already been made in the US. In 1878, he made an agreement to supply telephones and switchboards to Sweden's first telecom operating company, Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag.

Also in 1878, local telephone importer Numa Peterson hired Ericsson to adjust some telephones from the Bell Telephone Company. This inspired him to buy a number of Siemens telephones and analyze the technology further. (Ericsson had a scholarship at Siemens a few years earlier.) Through his firm's repair work for Telegrafverket and Swedish Railways, he was familiar with Bell and Siemens Halske telephones. He improved these designs to produce a higher quality instrument. These were used by new telephone companies, such as Rikstelefon, to provide cheaper service than the Bell Group. He had no patent or royalty problems, as Bell had not patented their inventions in Scandinavia. His training as an instrument maker was reflected in the high standard of finish and the ornate design which made Ericsson phones of this period so attractive to collectors. At the end of the year he started to manufacture telephones of his own, much in the image of the Siemens telephones, and the first product was finished in 1879.

With its reputation established, Ericsson became a major supplier of telephone equipment to Scandinavia. Because its factory could not keep up with demand, work such as joinery and metal-plating was contracted out. Much of its raw materials were imported, so in the following decades Ericsson bought into a number of firms to ensure supplies of essentials like brass, wire, ebonite and magnet steel. Much of the walnut used for cabinets was imported from the US.

As Stockholm's telephone network expanded rapidly that year, the company reformed into a telephone manufacturing company. But when Bell bought the biggest telephone network in Stockholm, it only allowed its own telephones to be used with it. So Ericsson's equipment sold mainly to free telephone associations in the Swedish countryside and in the other Nordic countries.

The high prices of Bell equipment and services led Henrik Tore Cedergren to form an independent telephone company in 1883 called Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag. As Bell would not deliver equipment to competitors, he formed a pact with Ericsson, which was to supply the equipment for his new telephone network. In 1918 the companies were merged into Allmänna Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

In 1884, a multiple-switchboard manual telephone exchange was more or less copied from a design by C. E. Scribner at Western Electric. This was legal, as the device was not patented in Sweden, although in the US it held patent 529421 since 1879. A single switchboard could handle up to 10,000 lines. The following year, LM Ericsson and Cedergren toured the US, visiting several telephone exchange stations to gather "inspiration". They found that US engineers were well ahead in switchboard design but Ericsson telephones were as good as any available.

In 1884, a technician named Anton Avén at Stockholms Allmänna Telefonaktiebolag had combined the earpiece and the mouthpiece of a (by then) standard telephone into a handset. It was used by operators in the exchanges that needed to have one hand free when talking to their customers. Ericsson picked up this invention and incorporated it into Ericsson products, beginning with a telephone named The Dachshund.

International expansion[link]

As production grew in the late 1890s, and the Swedish market seemed to be reaching saturation, Ericsson was able to expand into foreign markets through a number of agents. Britain and Russia were early markets. This eventually led to the establishment of factories in these countries. This was partly to improve chances of gaining local contracts, and partly because the Swedish factory could not keep up supply. In Britain, the National Telephone Company had been supplied with Ericsson equipment for some time and was a major customer. By 1897, Britain was accounting for 28% of Ericsson's sales. Other Nordic countries had become Ericsson customers as well, spurred by the rapid growth of telephone services in Sweden.

Other countries and colonies were exposed to Ericsson products through the influence of their parent countries. These included Australia and New Zealand, which by the late 1890s were Ericsson's largest non-European market. With mass production techniques now firmly established, the phones were losing some of their ornate finish and decoration.

Despite their successes elsewhere, Ericsson did not make significant sales into the United States. The Bell Group and local companies like Kellogg and Automatic Electric had this market tied up. Ericsson eventually sold its US assets. In contrast, sales in Mexico were good and led to further development into South American countries. South Africa and China were also generating significant sales. With his company now multinational, and growing strongly, Lars Ericsson stepped down from the company in 1901.

Automatic equipment[link]

LM Ericsson's former headquarters at Telefonplan in Stockholm, see LM Ericsson building.

In a curious oversight, Ericsson ignored the growth of automatic telephony in the US. Instead it concentrated on squeezing the most sales out of manual exchange designs. By 1910, this weakness was becoming seriously apparent, and the company spent the years up to 1920 correcting the situation. Their first dial phone was produced in 1921, although sales of the early automatic switching systems were slow until the equipment had proved itself on the world's markets. Phones of this period were characterized by a simpler design and finish, and many of the early automatic desk phones in Ericsson's catalogues were simply the proven magneto styles with a dial stuck on the front and appropriate changes to the electronics. A concession to style was in the elaborate decals (transfers) that decorated the cases. These phones have been also highly collectable and attractive.

World War I, the subsequent Great Depression, and the loss of its Russian assets after the Revolution slowed the company's development and restricted its sales to countries such as Australia.

Shareholding changes[link]

The purchase of other related companies put pressure on Ericsson's finances, and in 1925, Karl Fredric Wincrantz took control of the company by acquiring the majority of the shares. Wincrantz was partly funded by Ivar Kreuger, an international financier. The company was renamed Telefon AB LM Ericsson. At this time, Kreuger started showing interest in the company, being a major owner of Wincrantz holding companies.

In 1928, Ericsson began its long tradition of "A" and "B" shares, where an "A" share has 1000 votes against a "B" share. Wincrantz controlled the company by having only a few "A" shares, not a majority of the shares. By issuing a lot of "B" shares, much more money was fed to the company, while maintaining the status quo of power distribution.

In 1930, a second issue of "B"-shares took place, and Kreuger gained majority control of the company with a mixture of "A" and "B" shares. He bought these shares with money lent by LM Ericsson, with security given in German state bonds. He then took a large loan for his own company Kreuger & Toll from ITT Corporation (administered by Sosthenes Behn), giving large parts of LM Ericsson as security, and used its assets and name in a series of doubtful international financial dealings that had little to do with telephony.

Financially weakened, Ericsson was now being seen as a take over target by ITT, its main international competitor. In 1931 ITT acquired from Kreuger enough shares to have a majority interest in Ericsson. This news was not made public for some time. There was a government imposed limit on foreign shareholdings in Swedish companies, so for the time being the shares were still listed in Kreuger's name. Kreuger in return was to gain shares in ITT. He stood to make a profit of $11 million on the deal. When ITT's Behn wanted to cancel this deal in 1932, he discovered that there was no money left in the company, just a large claim on the same Kreuger & Toll that Kreuger had himself lent money to. Kreuger had effectively bought LM Ericsson with its own money.

With Kreuger no longer in control, the company's shaky financial position became quickly evident. Kreuger had been using the company as security for loans, and despite his profits, was unable to repay these loans. Ericsson found that they had invested in some very doubtful share deals, whose losses were deemed significant. ITT examined the deal and found that it had been seriously misled about Ericsson's value. ITT asked Kreuger to come to New York City for a conference, but Kreuger had a "breakdown". As word of Kreuger's financial position spread, pressure was put on him by the banking institutions to provide security for his loans. ITT canceled the deal to buy Ericsson shares. Kreuger could not repay the $11 million, and committed suicide in Paris in 1932. ITT owned one third of Ericsson, but was forbidden to exercise this ownership because of a paragraph in the company's articles of association stating that no foreign investor was allowed to control more than 20% of the votes.

The Wallenberg era begins[link]

Ericsson, a basically stable and profitable company, was only saved from bankruptcy and closure with help of loyal banks and some government backing. Marcus Wallenberg Jr negotiated a deal with several Swedish banks to rebuild Ericsson financially. Some of those were Stockholms Enskilda Bank (after a later merger part of the present Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken) and other Swedish investment banks controlled by the Wallenberg family. The banks gradually increased their possession of LM Ericsson "A" shares, with ITT still being the single largest shareholder. In 1960 the Wallenberg family struck a deal with ITT to buy its shares in Ericsson, and has since controlled the company.

Market development[link]

The Ericsson DBH15 telephone. Introduced in 1931 as model DBH 1001 and redesigned in 1947. The original design is attributed to Jean Heiberg, redesigned by Gerard Kiljan

In the 1920s and 1930s, the world telephone markets were being organized and stabilized by many governments. The fragmented town-by-town systems which had grown up over the years, serviced by many small private companies, were integrated and offered for lease to a single company. Ericsson managed to obtain some leases, which was vital to the company as it represented further sales of equipment to the growing networks. The other large telephone companies, of course, had exactly the same goal.

Ericsson DBH 1001 1939

Ericsson DBH 1001 1939

Ericsson managed to get almost one third of its sales under the control of its telephone operating companies.

There were a number of negotiations between the major telephone companies aimed at dividing up the world between them, but the sheer size of the ITT empire made it hard to compete with. With its financial problems, Ericsson was forced to reduce its involvement in telephone operating companies and go back to what it did best, manufacturing telephones and switchgear. It could do this easily now, thanks to its overseas manufacturing facilities and its associated supply companies. These had not been involved in the previous shady financial dealings and were generally in a sound position. The Beeston factory in Britain became a very useful asset here. It had been a joint venture between Ericsson and the National Telephone Company. The factory built automatic switching equipment for the BPO under license from Strowger, and exported a large amount of product to former colonies like South Africa and Australia. The British government divided its equipment contracts between competing manufacturers, but Ericsson's presence and manufacturing facilities in Britain allowed it to get most of the contracts. Ericsson equipment maintained its reputation for quality.^{[citation needed]}

Sales drives resumed after the Great Depression, but the company never achieved the market penetration that it had at the turn of the century. Although it still produced a full range of phones, switching equipment was becoming a more important part of its range. The distinctive Ericsson styles soon became subdued by the increasing use of moulded thermoplastic phones (Bakelite, etc.).

Following the advent of football shirt sponsorship during the 1980s, Ericsson sponsored two English football clubs during the 1990s – Brentford and Queen's Park Rangers.

Further development[link]

Yet, Ericsson remained a world telecommunications leader. It introduced the world's first fully automatic mobile telephone system, MTA in 1956.^[2] It released one of the world's first handsfree speaker phones in the 1960s. In 1954, it released the Ericofon, which was such a radical departure in styling that it has been highly collectable. Ericsson crossbar switching equipment is the mainstay of many telephone administrations around the world, and its influence is still felt strongly in such areas as mobile phones with its reputation for quality.^{[citation needed]}

Acquisitions, expansion, consolidation and cooperation[link]

As the Internet and wireless telephony began to merge during the turn of the century, Motorola (US), Ericsson, and Nokia (Finland) announced plans to develop standards jointly for the security of electronic transactions over mobile devices in 2000. In May 2000 the European Commission created the Wireless Strategic Initiative,^[3] a consortium of four leading telecommunications suppliers in Europe — Ericsson, Nokia, France-based Alcatel, and German Siemens AG — to develop and test new prototypes for advanced wireless communications systems. After meeting with an international think tank, the consortium partners in December 2000 invited other companies to join them in a Wireless World Research Forum held in 2001.

In 2000, the bursting of the information technology bubble had marked economic implications for Sweden. Ericsson, the world's largest producer of mobile telecommunications equipment, shed thousands of jobs, as did the country's once fast-expanding Internet consulting firms and dot-com start-ups. In 2000, Intel Corp., the world's largest chip manufacturer, signed a $1.5 billion deal to supply flash memory to LM Ericsson over the next three years.

In December 1999 Microsoft and Ericsson announced a strategic partnership with later the goal to create together an joint venture with a technology transfer where Ericsson provided its WAP protocol stack to Microsoft and Ericsson will adopt Microsoft Mobile Explorer in their new featured phones.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} The strategic partnership was then extended in September 2000 and the two companies created the joint venture called Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture AB owned with 70% by Ericsson and respectively 30% by Microsoft.^[9]

Although Ericsson formed on October 1, 2001 the handsets division into a joint venture with Sony called Sony Ericsson,^[10][11] they overtook full control of the joint venture with Microsoft on October 5, 2001.^[9][12] Ericsson is now a major provider of handset cores and an infrastructure supplier for all major wireless technologies. It has played an important global role in modernizing existing copper lines to offer broadband services and has actively grown a new line of business in the professional services area. In July 2009, the company signed a $1.7 billion deal in China with local operators China Mobile Communications Corp and China Unicom.^[13]

In 2001 telecommunications companies around the world experienced a year of tumbling stock prices and huge job losses. By September the stock market valuation of the world's telecom carriers and suppliers had declined by $3.8 trillion from a peak of $6.3 trillion in March 2000. More than a quarter of a million jobs were lost globally in the second quarter of 2001 alone. The major equipment manufacturers — Motorola (US), Lucent Technologies (US), and Cisco Systems (US), Marconi (UK), Siemens AG (Germany), Nokia (Finland), as well as Ericsson — all announced job cuts both in their home countries and in subsidiaries around the world. Some of the biggest losses were announced by the Canadian supplier Nortel Networks Ltd., which shed 50% of its workforce (almost 50,000 jobs), while in France equipment manufacturer Alcatel cut 33,000 jobs (almost a third of its employees).

Financially, 2002 was even worse for the global Internet and telecommunications industry than the previous year had been due the excesses of the investment bubbles. LM Ericsson, Royal KPN NV, Vodafone Group PLC, and Deutsche Telekom AG experienced the biggest losses in corporate history. The telecommunications sector's problems brought bankruptcies and job losses, and led to changes in the leadership of a number of major companies. The most high-profile victim in 2002 was Ericsson, then the world's largest producer of wireless telecom systems, as it was forced to let go thousands of staff and raise about $3 billion from its shareholders.

In June 2002, Infineon Technologies AG (then the sixth largest semiconductor supplier and a subsidiary of Siemens AG) bought the microelectronics unit of LM Ericsson for €400 million.

In October 2005, LM Ericsson acquired the bulk of the troubled British telecoms manufacturer Marconi, including the Marconi brand name, which dates back to the creation of the original Marconi Company by the "father of radio" Guglielmo Marconi. In September 2006, LM Ericsson sold the greater part of its defense business Ericsson Microwave Systems, which mainly produced sensor and radar systems, to Saab AB, which renamed the company to Saab Microwave Systems. The sale meant that Saab Ericsson Space, previously a joint venture, is now fully owned by Saab. Not included in the sale to Saab was the National Security & Public Safety division, which was transferred to Ericsson with the sale. In November 2006, LM Ericsson purchased the UIQ software business for smartphones from Symbian.

In January 2007, LM Ericsson completed the merger of its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Maxwell Acquisition Corporation, with and into Redback Networks Inc. (Redback), with Redback surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of LM Ericsson. In February 2007, LM Ericsson acquired Entrisphere, a company providing fiber access technology, based in the United States. In September 2007, LM Ericsson acquired an 84% interest in German software firm, LHS Telekom Inc., a stake since raised to 87.5%.

In July 2009, Ericsson acquired Nortel's wireless-equipment unit at price $1.13 billion in cash, the unit mainly include CDMA2000 and LTE. Other companies, also bidding for it included Nokia Siemens Networks and MatlinPatterson Global Advisors.

On February 18, 2008, it was announced that Aastra Technologies would acquire the enterprise PBX division of Ericsson.^[14]

June 2011: Ericsson made an acquisition of Telcordia Technologies to add more software and service support offerings for 1.2 billion in a cash transaction and on a debt-free basis.^[15]

Major competitors today include, in the main business, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks and ZTE, with Cisco, IBM, EDS, Accenture, Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG Electronics, NEC, Sharp and most recently Apple Inc., competing with aspects of the business.

Corporate governance[link]

Current members of the board of directors of LM Ericsson are: Leif Johansson, Jacob Wallenberg, Sverker Martin-Löf, Roxanne S. Austin, Sir Peter L. Bonfield, Börje Ekholm, Ulf J. Johansson, Nancy McKinstry, Anders Nyrén, Carl-Henric Svanberg, Hans Vestberg, Michelangelo Volpi, Pehr Claesson, Jan Hedlund, Karin Åberg, Kristina Davidsson, Karin Lennartsson and Roger Svensson.^[16]

Products and services[link]

This article appears to be written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by rewriting promotional content from a neutral point of view and removing any inappropriate external links. (June 2009)

LM Ericsson offers end-to-end solutions^{[clarification needed]} for all major mobile communication standards, and has three main business units.

• Business Unit Networks (BNET) focuses on networks for mobile and fixed line public telephone networks.
• Business Unit Global Services (BUGS) provides telecoms-related professional services, including for example taking responsibility for running an operators network and related business support systems.
• Business Unit Support Solutions focuses on Operations support systems/Business support systems (OSS/BSS), TV and media and Mobile commerce (M-Commerce) ^[17].

In addition, there is a very substantial research and development element, and a range of central functions. Operations locally are coordinated through a structure of regions and Market Units, with some Global and Multi-Country Accounts for large customers.

Business Unit Networks: Mobile and fixed networks[link]

LM Ericsson provides mobile systems solutions to network operators. Its systems offerings include radio base stations, base station and radio network controllers, mobile switching centers and service application nodes. Its end-to-end solutions offer operators a network migration to 3G.

Mobile access[link]

Ericsson provides mobile telecommunications systems that incorporate any of the major second-generation (2G) (global system for mobile communications (GSM), time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA)), 2.5G (General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)) and 3G (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Evolved HSPA (HSPA+, I-HSPA), Evcode division multiple access (third generation cellular/radio technology) (CDMA2000), time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA)) mobile technology standards. It is able to offer tailored solutions to a network operator, regardless of the existing network standard used. Ericsson is actively involved in the development of standards for the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) of 3G. Through network operators Ericsson offers service to over two billion customers worldwide.

Fixed broadband access[link]

The expansion of Ericsson's fixed broadband offering is an important step to address network operators as they begin integrating their fixed and mobile networks. It supplies broadband multi-service communications equipment and services mainly to fixed network operators in Latin America and Europe. Its solution for such multi-service networks utilizes a layered soft-switch service and control architecture, combined with broadband access and core network routing and transmission elements. Fixed network equipment and associated network rollout services account for 7% of Systems sales.

Radio access networks[link]

LM Ericsson offers radio base stations ranging from small pico cells (small cells in a mobile network that boost capacity and coverage within buildings) to high-capacity macro cell applications. Radio base stations provide access and interconnection between mobile handsets and the mobile network. A central feature of the 2G GSM radio base stations and base station controllers is their ability to be upgraded to enable 2.5G/GPRS and 2.75G/EDGE transmissions. Similarly, its W-CDMA base stations can be upgraded to HSDPA.

Other elements of the radio access networks are the controllers for radio base stations and radio access network, which manage the traffic between the radio base stations and core networks. In 2G, base station controllers in conjunction with mobile switching centers, effect call handovers between radio base stations as subscribers move between cell sites while engaged in a voice call or data transmission. Similarly, in 3G networks, a radio network controller effects call handover in conjunction with mobility server nodes within the service layer.

The core network nodes interconnect radio access networks with other parts of the network. Many of the core network switching systems, controllers for base stations and radio networks are built upon common platforms. Like its radio base station products, LM Ericsson's mobile switching products have scalability and capacity. Mobile network equipment and associated network rollout services account for approximately 74% of its sales.^{[citation needed]}

IP core network (switching, routing, control and transport)[link]

Ericsson's core network solutions include the mobile softswitch, IP infrastructure, IMS, media gateways, Mobile Packet Backbone Network (MPBN) and microwave and optical transport solutions to provide management of voice and data traffic.

Ericsson Network Technologies[link]

Ericsson Network Technologies (Cables) unit provides a range of cable-related items for telecom and power networks. LM Ericsson is engaged in the passive fiber access network field including integration of copper, fiber optic and mobile technologies. About a third of the sales from its Cables group is attributable to inter-segment sales. Manufacturing is carried out in China, India, Malaysia and Sweden.

• AXE telephone exchange
• Base Transceiver Station
• Network Switching Subsystem

Ericsson Power Modules[link]

Ericsson Power Modules is a supplier of direct current (DC)/DC converters and DC/DC regulators, mainly to the communications industry, for advanced applications, such as multiplexors, switches, routers and radio base stations. Manufacturing is in China.

Ericsson Microwave Systems[link]

Ericsson Microwave Systems designed radar systems and was eventually sold to Saab AB on September 1, 2006 as a move to focus on telecom and move out of the military market.

Business Unit Support Solutions[link]

Initially established in 2007 as Business Unit Multimedia, Ericsson announced a new strategy for its multimedia business in February 2012.^[18] Business Unit Support Solutions focuses on Operations support systems / Business support systems (OSS/BSS), TV and media and Mobile commerce (M-Commerce).^[19] Ericsson claims a leading position in charging and billing, serving 1.6 billion people with its solutions.^[20]

• OSS and BSS has expanded following the integration of Telcordia ^[19] and focuses on Customer experience management (CEM), including fulfillment, assurance, network optimization and real-time charging.

• TV and media offers solutions that enable operators and content owners to monetize video content through blended, multi-screen TV services.^[21]

• M-Commerce aims to accelerate the interconnection between the m-commerce eco-system and the existing financial world,^[22] as well as let mobile operators and financial institutions offer mobile wallet services to consumers.^[23] Ericsson has announced m-commerce deals with Western Union^[24] and African wireless carrier MTN.^[25]

Devices[link]

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) delivers mobile phones, accessories and personal computer (PC) cards. Sony Ericsson is responsible for product design and development, as well as marketing, sales, distribution and customer services. About one-third of Sony Ericsson's handsets are produced at their factory in China. The remaining two-thirds of production is more or less equally split between contract manufacturers (EMS) and other device manufacturers (ODM) at locations in several countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe, mainly Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Slovakia, Germany, and Malaysia in that order.

Cellular telephones[link]

The following is a list of cellular phones marketed under the brand name Ericsson. As a joint venture with with Sony, cell phone production was moved into the company Sony Ericsson in 2001. Ericsson subsequently sold its share in the venture to Sony, effective 2012.

• Ericsson GA628 – Known for its z80 CPU
• Ericsson SH888 – First mobile phone to have wireless modem capabilities.
• Ericsson A1018 – Dualband cellphone, notably easy to hack. First to
• Ericsson A2618 & Ericsson A2628 – Dualband cellphones. Use graphical LCD display based on PCF8548 I²C controller.^[26]
• Ericsson T10 – Colourful Cellphone
• Ericsson T18
• Ericsson T28 – Very slim and sophisticated phone. Uses advanced lithium polymer batteries. Ericsson T28 FAQ use graphical LCD display based on PCF8558 I²C controller.
• Ericsson T29
• Ericsson T39 – Similar to the T28, but with a GPRS modem and triband capabilities.
• Ericsson T66
• Ericsson T68 – The first Ericsson handset to have a color display, later branded as Sony Ericsson T68i
• Ericsson R310s
• Ericsson R320s
• Ericsson R380 – First cellphone to use the Symbian OS
• Ericsson R520 – Similar to the T39, but in a candy bar form factor and with added convenience features such as a built-in speakerphone and an optical proximity sensor
• Ericsson R600

Telephones[link]

• Ericsson Dialog
• Ericofon

Ericsson Mobile Platforms[link]

Ericsson Mobile Platforms is a supplier of technology platforms for GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA platforms used in devices, such as mobile handsets and PC cards. Through Ericsson Mobile Platforms, LM Ericsson licenses open-standard, end-to-end interoperability tested GSM/EDGE and WCDMA technology platforms. The product offerings include reference designs, platform software, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs and development boards, development and test tools, training, support and documentation. Ericsson Mobile Platforms has operations at nine global locations, with main operations in Sweden.

Ericsson Enterprise[link]

Ericsson Enterprise provides communications systems and services for businesses, public entities and educational institutions. It addresses a variety of enterprise needs through segmented offerings for both small and large enterprises. It focuses on providing solutions for voice over Internet protocol (VoIP)-based private branch exchanges (PBX), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and mobile intranet solutions. With Mobile Enterprise, users on the move are able to access a range of business-critical communications and information applications from a variety of devices over private or public, fixed or wireless networks. Ericsson Enterprise operates mainly from Sweden but has a global presence through the market units and other partners/distributors. Manufacturing is outsourced. In 2008, Ericsson Enterprise business is sold to Aastra, a global company at the forefront of the Enterprise Communication market.

Business Unit Global Services[link]

Ericsson is the world's largest telecom services provider and the strength in telecom services has a strong correlation with the company's technology leadership, R&D achievements and long tradition of innovation. The services portfolio includes expertise in the areas of consulting, systems integration, managed services, network deployment and integration, education and support services. That includes planning, building, deploying, optimizing, running networks and solutions for customers as well as providing strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consultancy services.

The Company offers managed services capabilities within the telecom industry. Its offerings cover management of day-to-day operations of a customer's network (Home internet Solution), including a managed capacity service for a network build out and on-demand capacity, as well as hosting of applications and content management. Ericsson's services organization has over 30,000 service professionals working in 175 countries.

Managed Services[link]

Ericsson has the telecom industry's most comprehensive managed services offering.^{[citation needed]} It ranges from designing, building, operating and managing day-to-day operations of a customer's network, including end-user services and business-support systems, to hosting service applications and content, as well as providing network coverage and capacity on demand. As the undisputed^{[dubious – discuss]} leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced^{[citation needed]} more than 100 contracts for managed services with operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, excluding hosting, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 225 million subscribers worldwide. In September 2009 Ericsson assumed the day to day operations of Sprint Nextel's wireline and wireless networks.^[27] As of 2010 Ericsson has offered to assume ownership of customer's networks in addition to managing them.

Support Services[link]

Ericsson provides support to its customers to maximize network availability and secure long-term evolution. This includes both a preventative and corrective approach.

Ericsson’s offering for support services combines technology leadership with a mix of global and local resources.

The support portfolio covers everything from spare parts management to supporting customized software in order to:

• Securing the right network competence
• Managing network complexity
• Securing services evolution
• Managing multiple suppliers
• Optimizing spare parts handling.

Systems Integration[link]

Ericsson's Systems integrations offering currently consists of seven distinct service offerings.

• OSS or Operations Support Systems
• BSS or Business Support Systems
• IP Networks and Architecture
• TV, Applications and Service Delivery Platforms
• Solution and Life-Cycle Management
• Data Migration
• Multi-Vendor Verification

Education[link]

Learning Services and Ericsson Academy.

Products and Services

Training Programs Learning Solutions Managed Learning Service

Ericsson has come up with Learning Solutions supporting the Learning needs of its workforce, customers and readers in The information and communication technologies (ICT) sector.

Consulting[link]

Ericsson covers strategy-, technology-, network-, operations- and competence consulting.

Ericsson identifies and addresses opportunities and challenges arising from market developments, technology shifts and efficiency demands.

Network Roll-out[link]

Ericsson’s network roll-out services employ a mix of in-house capabilities, subcontractors and central resources to perform the task of making changes in live networks.

The service offering provides solutions for access, core and transport networks, as well as in-building solutions, irrespective of vendor.

Ericsson customizes service offerings include:

• Civil Works
• Data Migration
• Integration
• Integration Design
• Multi-Vendor Verification
• Network Design
• Site Acquisition
• Software Deployment Preparation

.mobi and mobile internet[link]

Ericsson was instrumental, as an official backer, in the launch of the .mobi top level domain created specifically for the mobile internet.^[28] Since the launch of .mobi in September 2006, Ericsson has launched Ericsson.mobi, its mobile portal, and SonyEricsson.mobi, the mobile portal of Sony Ericsson. Additionally, Ericsson hosts a developer program called Ericsson Developer Connection, designed to encourage fast development of applications and services.^[29] Ericsson also has an open innovation initiative for beta applications and beta API's & tools called Ericsson Labs. The company hosts several internal innovation competitions to foster innovation among its worldwide employees.

See also[link]

Companies portal

• Investor AB
• Sony Ericsson (now Sony Mobile Communications)
• List of Sony Ericsson products
• Cedergren
• Ericsson Nikola Tesla
• Erlang (programming language)
• Tandberg Television
• (French) Syndicat Autonome de STMicroelectronics et ST-Ericsson (UNSA STM&STE)
• (French) Syndicat Autonome ST-Ericsson (UNSA STE)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (1994) A switch in time: AXE — creating a foundation for the information age. London: Communications Week International. ISBN 0-9524031-1-0.
• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (1997). The ugly duckling. Stockholm: Ericsson Mobile Communications. ISBN 91-630-5452-3.
• John Meurling & Richard Jeans (2000). The Ericsson Chronicle: 125 years in telecommunications. Stockholm: Informationsförlaget. ISBN 91-7736-464-3.
• The Mobile Phone Book: The Invention of the Mobile Telephone Industry. ISBN 0-9524031-0-2
• Mobile media and applications – from concept to cash: successful service creation and launch. ISBN 0-470-01747-3
• Anders Pehrsson (1996). International Strategies in Telecommunications. London: Routledge Research. ISBN 0-415-14829-4

External links[link]

• Official website

Recent Patent Filings[link]

• PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD AND SOCIAL NETWORK AND METHOD FOR SHARING CONTENT INFORMATION -- HANSSON; Emil; (Lund, SE) ; LUNDGREN; Lars-Gunnar; (Lund, SE) ; OSTERDAHL; David; (Lund, SE)

• SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSFERRING A PARTIALLY VIEWED VOD PROGRAM FROM A FIRST SERVICE LOCATION TO A SECOND SERVICE LOCATION -- Rouse , Alan (Lawrenceville, GA) Charles Dasher (Lawrenceville, GA),

• Method and Apparatus for use in an IP Multimedia Subsystem -- Khan; David; (Johanneshov, SE) ; Forsman; Timo; (Alvsjo, SE) ; Jonsson; Annika; (Enskede, SE)

• SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MAPPING CUSTOMER PREMISE EQUIPMENT IN A VOD SYSTEM OF A CABLE SERVICE PROVIDER -- Rouse; Alan; (Lawrenceville, GA); Charles Dasher (Lawrenceville, GA)

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v t e OMX Stockholm 30 companies of Sweden ABB Alfa Laval Assa Abloy AstraZeneca Atlas Copco Boliden Electrolux Ericsson Getinge Hennes & Mauritz Investor AB Lundin Petroleum Modern Times Group Nokia Nordea Sandvik SCA Scania SEB Securitas Skanska SKF SSAB Svenska Handelsbanken Swedbank Swedish Match Tele2 TeliaSonera Volvo

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Samantha Stosur

Stosur at the 2009 US Open
Country	Australia
Residence	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Born	(1984-03-30) 30 March 1984 (age 28) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	65 kg (140 lb; 10.2 st)
Turned pro	1999
Plays	Right (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$ 10,401,252
Singles
Career record	380–260
Career titles	3 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 4 (21 February 2011)
Current ranking	No. 6 (28 May 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	4R (2006, 2010)
French Open	F (2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2009)
US Open	W (2011)
Other tournaments
Championships	SF (2010, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	342–158
Career titles	23 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (6 February 2006)
Current ranking	No. 42 (28 May 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (2006)
French Open	W (2006)
Wimbledon	F (2008, 2009, 2011)
US Open	W (2005)
Other Doubles tournaments
WTA Championships	W (2005, 2006)
Olympic Games	2R (2008)
Mixed Doubles
Career titles	2
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2005)
French Open	SF (2005)
Wimbledon	W (2008)
US Open	2R (2008)
Last updated on: 28 May 2012.

Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur (English pronunciation: /ˈstoʊzər/ STOH-zər, born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No. 1 on the WTA Tour in doubles with Lisa Raymond from the United States.

Early life[link]

Stosur was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the daughter of Tony and Diane, and has two brothers, Dominic and Daniel.^[1] She is of Polish descent through her grandfather.^[2] When she was six, the family house and business on the Gold Coast was destroyed by a flood, and the family moved to Adelaide.^[3] There she started playing tennis, when she was given a racquet for Christmas at the age of eight. While her parents worked long hours at the cafe they had started, Stosur played at local courts with older brother Daniel, who later encouraged their parents to take her to tennis lessons.^[4] Stosur attended Helensvale State High School on the Northern Gold Coast.^[5] She went away on her first overseas trip at the age of 13, competing in the World Youth Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia.^[1]

At the age of 14, Stosur joined the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) under Geoff Masters. In 2001, when she was 16, she joined the Australian Institute of Sport tennis program.^[1]

Personal life[link]

Stosur travels with a small entourage comprising Coach Dave Taylor and Personal Trainer Simmone Morrow. While Taylor is well known in the tennis circle as the Fed Cup Captain for Australia, little is known about Morrow. Commentators such as Sam Smith from Eurosport UK have attributed Stosur's high level of fitness to Morrow, stating that both Taylor and Morrow have an equal part to play in Stosur's 2011 success at the US Open. Morrow, who is a retired Olympic softball player, despite having been in Stosur's entourage since early 2009, has only been recently identified by Eurosport's Sam Smith as Stosur's personal trainer.

Stosur is single and is good friends with tennis players Gigi Fernandez, Rennae Stubbs and Lisa Raymond.

Tennis career[link]

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2011)

Early career[link]

Stosur first played professional tennis in 1999 on the ITF circuit. She debuted on the Women's Tennis Association tour in 2000, losing in the first qualifying round of the Australian Open. In 2001 she won four straight ITF titles. In 2002 she lost in the first round at the Gold Coast event.

In 2003, Stosur won her first WTA singles matches, reaching the third round of the Australian Open. She lost in the third round to no. 7 seed, Daniela Hantuchová. She also qualified for a WTA event in Memphis.

In 2004, Stosur reached the semifinals of the Gold Coast event, before falling to Ai Sugiyama. The next week, she reached the second round of the WTA tournament in Hobart, then the second round of the Australian Open. She later qualified for WTA events in Acapulco, Indian Wells, Vienna and Birmingham. Stosur competed at the Athens Olympics, where she lost in the first round. She continued to play WTA qualifying events, qualifying for the Japan Open and Bali in the autumn of 2004. At the end of the 2004 season, Stosur reached the doubles final in Québec City, partnered with Els Callens from Belgium.

2005[link]

In 2005 Stosur reached her first WTA tour final at her home event in Gold Coast, losing to Patty Schnyder. She was runner-up at the Sydney event, defeating by walkover the world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinal and Elena Dementieva in the semifinal, before losing to fellow Australian Alicia Molik, and won her first doubles title partnering Australian Bryanne Stewart at the same tournament. Stosur lost to world no. 2 Amélie Mauresmo in the first round of the Australian Open, but won the mixed doubles title with Scott Draper over Liezel Huber and Kevin Ullyett.

In July, she teamed up with American Lisa Raymond, winning seven WTA doubles titles before the end of the year, including the U.S. Open, the Kremlin Cup, and the WTA Tour Championships. Stosur finished the year ranked no. 46 in singles and no. 2 in doubles.

2006[link]

Stosur during the 2006 Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia

In 2006 Stosur represented Australia alongside Todd Reid at the Hopman Cup, winning all of her singles matches. She then lost in the first round in Sydney to Czech Nicole Vaidišová in three sets.

At the Australian Open, Stosur made it to the fourth round in singles, falling to Martina Hingis. She and Lisa Raymond also made it to the women's doubles final, where they were defeated by Chinese duo Yan Zi and Zheng Jie.

After losing at the Australian Open, Stosur and Raymond won 18 straight matches, winning titles in Tokyo, Memphis, Indian Wells, and Miami. They also won in Charleston, at the French Open, and the WTA Tour Championships.

On 28 August, Stosur achieved a career-high ranking of number 30, after reaching the semifinals at New Haven, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport in two tiebreakers. She finished off the year winning the doubles title at the WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, ranked no. 1 in doubles and a career-high to that point no. 29 in singles.

2007[link]

Stosur and Lisa Raymond successfully defended their doubles titles in Tokyo, Indian Wells, and Miami. The pair also won the German Open in Berlin. In singles, Stosur reached three quarterfinals, at Gold Coast, Tokyo, and Memphis. In Rome, she defeated first seed Amélie Mauresmo in the second round, saving two match points, before losing to Patty Schnyder in the following round.

After the French Open, Stosur started showing symptoms of what would only after months be diagnosed as Lyme disease, an infection transmitted by the bite of ticks. By then, her form had slumped. She lost in the second round at Wimbledon, withdrew from many tournaments on the US hardcourt circuit, and lost in the first round of the U.S. Open, where she was seeded 29th, to the then ranked no. 96 Alizé Cornet of France. Stosur did not play any more tournaments in 2007.

2008[link]

Stosur returned playing two ITF tournaments before the 2008 Rome Masters in May, where she was defeated in the second round by Venus Williams. The tournament also saw the return of the doubles team of Stosur and Lisa Raymond with a second round loss. Less than a month later, they were defeated in the third round of the 2008 French Open, where Stosur reached the second round in singles, losing to Petra Kvitová.

Stosur showed great promise at Wimbledon; while only making the second round in singles, losing to Nicole Vaidišová, she made the finals of both the ladies and mixed doubles. She and Lisa Raymond lost the final to Venus and Serena Williams. The Williams sisters had just played against each other in the final of the ladies singles. With mixed doubles partner Bob Bryan, Stosur defeated Mike Bryan and Katarina Srebotnik to win the title.

At the Beijing Olympics, Stosur was defeated in the second round of the singles tournament by no. 4 seed Serena Williams. In doubles, Stosur (formerly ranked no. 1) partnered Rennae Stubbs, ranked no. 5 at the time; however, the pair were unseeded because the ITF determined the seedings for the doubles competition based on both singles and doubles rankings standings. The pair lost in the second round to the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, who were then ranked no. 2.

At the US Open, Stosur lost in the first round of singles to seventh seed Venus Williams. She and Mahesh Bhupathi were eliminated in the second round of the mixed doubles competition by Rennae Stubbs and Robert Lindstedt. Raymond and Stosur were runners-up at the women's doubles event, losing to the top ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber.

By the end of the year Stosur was ranked no. 52 in the WTA singles rankings, 110 spots above her ranking in June. In spite of missing the first 4 1/2 months of the tour, Raymond and Stosur finished the season as the seventh best team at the Race to the Sony Ericsson Championships, with Stosur ranked no. 14 in doubles, 156 positions higher than she was when she returned to playing on the ITF circuit.

2009[link]

Stosur (left) with doubles partner Rennae Stubbs at 2009 Australian Open

In her first tournament of the year, Stosur fell to Lucie Šafářová in the second round of the Brisbane International. At the Medibank International, she was defeated by no. 1 seed Serena Williams, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5. Seeded fourth in doubles, the pair of Stosur and Rennae Stubbs lost to Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-wei in the first round of the tournament. Stosur lost in the third round to world no. 4 Elena Dementieva, 7–6, 6–4. She also won through to the third round in doubles, partnering Stubbs, defeating the Radwańska sisters 6–1, 6–4. However, they then lost to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams, 4–6, 2–6.

In the Fed Cup Asia/Oceanic Zone competition, Stosur won four matches against various opponents from South Korea, Thailand, and Chinese Taipei. The Australian team, which also included Casey Dellacqua and Jelena Dokić, advanced to the World Group II play-offs, winning all of its twelve rubbers.

At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Stosur was defeated in the second round by Zheng Jie. Together with Stubbs, she was ousted in the semifinals of the doubles competition by the world no.1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 4–6, 4–6.

In Indian Wells, Stosur was eliminated in the second round by Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 3–6, 5–7. In doubles, Stosur lost to Vera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka in the second round 2–6, 6–3, 7–10. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Stosur defeated no. 2 seed Dinara Safina in the third round, 6–1, 6–4. Safina would have reached the no. 1 ranking had she won the match. She lost to Victoria Azarenka 1–6, 0–6. She reached the same round in doubles, losing to Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Patty Schnyder, 7–6, 2–6, 8–10. Due to her results, Stosur's singles ranking rose from 43 to 31.

At the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Stosur was eliminated in the first round by no. 2 seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 3–6, 7–6, 1–6. She then played for the Australian Fed Cup team in Mildura, Australia against Switzerland in their World Group II playoff on 25–26 April. Stosur won the opening rubber of the tie in straight sets then sealed the victory for Australia in the third rubber with a tight three-set victory, improving her 2009 Fed Cup singles record to 6–0. With this result, the Australian team advanced to the World Group II in 2010.

On to the clay season, Stosur was eliminated in the first round of the Rome Masters by qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova, and was also defeated in her first match in doubles. She then competed at the Madrid Masters, where she upset no.10 seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but fell to Anna Chakvetadze in the second round 6–1, 2–6, 6–7. Stosur and Stubbs made it to the semifinals, but were defeated by the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber 5–7, 6–7.

At the 2009 French Open, Stosur and Stubbs fell in the third round to 16th seeds Yan Zi and Zheng Jie. In singles, Stosur defeated Francesca Schiavone, 6–4, 6–2, in the first round and Yanina Wickmayer, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, in the second. She then beat fourth seed Elena Dementieva in the third round, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1, and Virginie Razzano of France, 6–1, 6–2, for a place in the quarterfinals, where she defeated Sorana Cîrstea, 6–1, 6–3, and advanced to her first ever Grand Slam semifinal against no. 7 seed and eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova. After losing the first set 4–6, Stosur fought back a break of serve to win the second set 7–6, after trailing 2–5 in the tiebreaker, but lost in the final set 3–6. This made her the lowest seed in the tournament to reach the furthest. With this result, Stosur cracked the top 20 on the WTA Rankings for the first time in her career.

Stosur started the grass season playing at the AEGON International. She lost in the second round to sixth seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, 1–6, 7–5, 1–6. Having beaten the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, she was a runner-up in the doubles tournament, losing the final to Ai Sugiyama and Akgul Amanmuradova.

As the 18th seed at Wimbledon, Stosur lost in the third to 13th seed Ana Ivanović, 5–7, 2–6. In ladies' doubles, Stosur reached her second consecutive final, this time partnering Rennae Stubbs. The third seeds beat second seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in three sets, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 in the semifinals, but were defeated in the final by fourth seeds Venus and Serena Williams in straight sets, 6–7, 4–7. Stosur was also defending the mixed doubles title together with Bob Bryan, but the second seeds were defeated in the quarterfinals by 9th seeds and eventual champions Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Mark Knowles.

Stosur started the US Open Series in Stanford, making it into the semifinals, where she lost to eighth seed Marion Bartoli.

Stosur then competed at the LA Women's Tennis Championships as the no. 13 seed. She made it to her fifth WTA Tour final, where she lost to no. 10 seed Flavia Pennetta. Her next tournament was Toronto, where she defeated no. 6 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, before being eliminated by 4th seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals 6–7, 6–1, 6–3. At the same tournament, Stosur and Stubbs defeated the world no. 1 team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the semifinals, 3–6, 6–3, [10–7], but lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–2, 5–7, [9–11], in the final.

Stosur at the 2009 US Open

With these results, Stosur improved her ranking to a career-high no. 15 in singles just in time for the US Open, where she was seeded accordingly. She lost to American Vania King in the second round, 5–7, 6–4–6. Stosur entered the doubles event with compatriot Rennae Stubbs. As the third seeds, they made the semifinals without dropping a set, where they faced no. 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber. They won the first set, but lost the next two after a two-day rain interruption, 7–5, 3–6, 1–6.

At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Stosur was defeated by Maria Sharapova in the second round, 0–6, 1–6. Seeded 15th at the China Open, Stosur lost a three-setter to Alizé Cornet. Stosur then played in Osaka as the third seed. Stosur captured her first-ever title on the WTA tour by beating Francesca Schiavone in the finals, 7–5, 6–1, in just over an hour. This win secured her a spot at the 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions held in Bali. She also qualified at the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in the doubles event partnering compatriot Rennae Stubbs. They lost a hard-fought semifinals match against no. 1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber, 6–3, 6–7 8–10.

Stosur was one of only two players on tour who played at both year-end championships. The other one was María José Martínez Sánchez, who was in Stosur's group at Bali for the round-robin stage with Ágnes Szávay. Stosur won her first match against Szávay in three sets, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, but lost her second to María José Martínez Sánchez, 6–7, 5–7. This loss cost her the semifinals spot, as Martínez Sánchez won both her round-robin matches.

2010[link]

After her success in 2009, Stosur decided to focus on singles and take part in doubles less. Her partnership with Rennae Stubbs ended, and she partnered with Nadia Petrova; she took part in only the major tournaments in hopes of reaching the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha.

Alongside Lleyton Hewitt, Stosur represented Australia at the 2010 Hopman Cup. The Australians were the top seeds. Their first tie was against Romania, where Stosur lost unexpectedly to Sorana Cîrstea in a three-setter, and then lost in the mixed doubles, 5–7, 1–6. The next tie was against the USA, where Stosur beat Melanie Oudin in straight sets, 6–2, 6–4. Hewitt also won his singles match against John Isner, sealing the tie. In mixed doubles, Hewitt-Stosur lost 6–2, 1–6, 5–10. To advance to the final, Australia needed to win their tie against Spain 3–0. This result was, however, reversed, Australia losing to Spain 0–3. Stosur's last preparation tournament prior to the Australian Open was the Medibank International. Stosur lost to Flavia Pennetta,3–6, 1–6, in the first round.

Stosur reached her first singles Grand Slam Final at Roland Garros

Stosur was guaranteed a seeding of 13 for the 2010 Australian Open. She lost against world number 1 and defending champion Serena Williams, 4–6, 2–6. Despite the loss, she moved up to a career-high ranking of no. 11. She played with Russian Nadia Petrova in the doubles event of the Australian Open. They were seeded fifth, but lost to another Russia-Australian duo, Vera Dushevina and Anastasia Rodionova in the first round.

She then travelled to Adelaide to represent Australia at the Fed Cup alongside Alicia Molik, Casey Dellacqua, and Rennae Stubbs against Spain. Stosur won both of her singles matches by beating María José Martínez Sánchez, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–1, 6–3. Stosur and Rennae Stubbs won their doubles match, 6–4, 6–2, gifting Australia a 3–2 win in the tie.

Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded ninth. Stosur was stunned in the opening round, 6–3, 2–6, 6–7, at the hands of veteran Tathiana Garbin. She had better success in the doubles partnering Nadia Petrova. The pair was seeded fourth and reached the semifinals after receiving a first-round bye, then a walkover, and a win against fifth seeds Alisa Kleybanova and Francesca Schiavone, 6–7, 7–5, [11–9].

Seeded eighth at the BNP Paribas Open, Stosur received a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, she defeated 12th seed and defending champion Vera Zvonareva, 6–2, 7–6, to move through to her first semifinal at the tournament, where she lost to eventual champion Jelena Janković, 2–6, 4–6, with Stosur making 47 unforced errors in the match. With her success, she reached a career-high ranking of no. 10, making her only the third Australian woman to achieve this feat in 10 years, after Jelena Dokić reached number 4 in 2002 and Alicia Molik reached number 8 in 2005. In doubles, Stosur was third seed with Nadia Petrova. They had a comfortable route to the final, dropping only one set, where they lost 4–6, 6–2, [5–10] to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik

Stosur's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she was seeded ninth. Due to her seeding, Stosur received a bye in the first round. She lost in the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, 3–6, 5–7. In the doubles draw, Stosur and Petrova were seeded third and reached the final without dropping a set. However, Stosur and Petrova were defeated in the second straight final, losing in a super-tiebreak 3–6, 6–4, [7–10] to Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.

Stosur began her clay season at the Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded fourth. In the final, she defeated Vera Zvonareva, 6–0, 6–3, for her fifth consecutive victory over the Russian. With this, she won her second and biggest WTA title, which put her back inside the top 10 at world no. 10. She is the only Australian woman to have won this title.

Then, Stosur competed in the World Group Play-offs in Ukraine. After the first day, the Aussies had a commanding lead, going 2–0 against Ukraine. This was helped by a 6–3, 6–0 win from Stosur against Mariya Koryttseva, and Anastasia Rodionova's win over Alona Bondarenko, 0–6, 6–3, 7–5. Stosur then secured victory for Australia with a 7–6, 6–3 win over Lyudmyla Kichenok. Because of this, Australia played in the World Group in 2011 against the top seed Italy.

Stosur then competed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Her 11-game winning streak was ended by former world no. 1 Justine Henin in the final, 4–6, 6–2, 1–6. Despite this result, Stosur was awarded a new career high ranking of world no. 8.

Her next scheduled tournament was the Rome Masters; however, Stosur had to withdraw due to fatigue. With this, her next scheduled tournament was the Madrid Open as the no. 8 seed. In the quarterfinals, Stosur was broken multiple times by Venus Williams, losing 3–6, 3–6. Because of her run, she rose to world no. 7. In doubles, Stosur resumed her partnership with Nadia Petrova as third seeds with a first-round bye. However, they were knocked out in the second round by Anastasia Rodionova and Patty Schnyder.

Coming in to the French Open Stosur was seeded seventh and was one of the favourites to win the title, due to her semifinal run in 2009 and her tour-best 14–2 record on clay in 2010. She was drawn in the same quarter as Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, which was dubbed the toughest section of the draw. Becoming the first Australian woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Wendy Turnbull at the 1980 Australian Open, she was the heavy favourite for the title, by dispatching three consecutive former world no. 1's and favorites for the title (4th – Justine Henin, QF – Serena Williams and SF – Jelena Janković). She was upset by Italian Francesca Schiavone, 4–6, 6–7.

In doubles, Stosur and her partner Nadia Petrova were the fourth seeds. They defeated Irina Pavlovic and Laura Thorpe in the first round, 6–4, 6–4, then defeated Vania King and Michaëlla Krajicek in the second round 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. Their run came to an end at the hands of Ukrainian sisters Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko, when the fourth seeds retired trailing 1–6, 0–1.

Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the AEGON International in Eastbourne in the week prior to Wimbledon. In the semifinal. she was defeated by eventual champion Ekaterina Makarova. 6–7, 5–7, in a disappointing display, despite leading the first set 3–0 and having a chance to serve for that set at 5–3. With her semifinals appearance in the AEGON International in Eastbourne, she attained a new career high of world no. 6. Also, with this appearance, she was ranked no. 1 in the race to the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

Her next tournament was the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. As the sixth seed, Stosur fell in the first round to Kaia Kanepi, 4–6, 4–6, after saving three match points. As the 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone also lost in the first round, Stosur and Schiavone were the first two women in history who reached the French Open final, but failed to win a match at Wimbledon. Despite not winning a match, she received a new career-high ranking of world no. 5, due to Elena Dementieva's withdrawal from the tournament due to injury. Dementieva held the world no. 5 position before the 2010 Wimbledon Championships began and had semifinal points to defend.

Stosur also played in the doubles event, hoping to have success similar to the previous year with then-partner Rennae Stubbs. She played with her 2010 partner Nadia Petrova as the third seeds, but lost in the third round to eventual champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, 4–6, 4–6. She also competed in the mixed doubles event as first seeds with Nenad Zimonjić. They received a bye in the first round, and in the second round, they defeated Colin Fleming and Sarah Borwell, 6–1, 6–4. They then faced the Belgium duo Xavier Malisse and Kim Clijsters, but lost 4–6, 6–7.

Stosur's next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, where she was the first seed, but lost in a semifinal match-up with Victoria Azarenka, 2–6, 3–6.

She then participated in the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. As the second seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta, 4–6, 3–6.

Due to a shoulder injury, she withdrew from her next two events; the Cincinnati Masters and the Rogers Cup in Montreal. This meant that Stosur had only taken part in one of the five Premier 5 tournaments of the year. By missing both Premier 5 tournaments, Stosur fell to no. 6, since Kim Clijsters won the Cincinnati Masters tournament.

After taking time off to recover from her injury, Stosur took part in the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis tournament at New Haven, in hopes of regaining some of the lost ranking points and in preparation for the US Open. Stosur lost to Nadia Petrova, 1–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals.

At the 2010 US Open Stosur was seeded fifth. In her first quarterfinal at the US Open, she was up a break in the third set, before falling to defending champion and second seed Kim Clijsters, 4–6, 7–5, 3–6. Stosur announced that she would not take part in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Instead, Stosur competed at the final Premier Mandatory event of the year, the China Open, where she lost in the first round to qualifier, Anastasija Sevastova in three sets, 6–2, 6–7, 5–7. Stosur qualified in singles for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Doha for the first time in her career, following the withdrawal of American, Venus Williams.^[6]

Stosur then attempted to defend her title at the 2010 HP Open as top seed, her only WTA International tournament of the year. She lost against Kimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals, 7–5, 3–6, 6–7, becoming the first top 10 player in WTA history to lose to an opponent over the age of 40.

Stosur competed at the 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she was seeded fifth. Stosur was drawn in the Maroon Group alongside world no. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, world no. 6 Francesca Schiavone, and world no. 9 Elena Dementieva, seeded first, fourth, and seventh respectively, due to the William Sisters' withdrawal. In her first match against Schiavone, she avenged her Roland Garros final loss to the Italian by defeating her in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4, coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the first set. Her next opponent was world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Stosur continued her dominant showing, recording a 6–4, 6–3 win to secure her spot in the semifinals. She then fell to Elena Dementieva, 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, but secured her spot in the semifinals by winning one set. Stosur finished in first position in her round-robin group, but lost to three-time US Open Champion and world no. 4 Kim Clijsters in the semifinals.

Stosur ended her year at world no. 6 with 4,982 ranking points, just behind world no. 5 Venus Williams with 4,985 ranking points. In addition, Stosur was the only player in 2010 to defeat both current world no. 1 players, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. She also had the best percentage of points scored on second serve amongst her peers.

2011[link]

Stosur began her 2011 season by competing at the Brisbane International. She fell in straight sets to fellow Australian, Jarmila Groth in the second round. After this tournament, Stosur competed at the Medibank Sydney International as the fourth seed. She lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Stosur was seeded fifth at the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost in the third round to 25th seed Petra Kvitová, 6–7, 3–6. Stosur's ranking rose to number 5, despite her early loss at the Australian Open. Stosur then rose to a new career high no. 4, following a quarterfinal showing at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Stosur had a disappointing start to the first American leg of the year, falling in the third round of the Indian Wells to Dinara Safina, 6–7, 4–6. In Miami, Stosur was seeded fourth, but was defeated in the fourth round by 16th seed and former no. 1 Maria Sharapova, 4–6, 1–6.

After Miami, Stosur played at Charleston, where she failed to defend her title, falling in the third round to Elena Vesnina in two sets.

In Stuttgart, as fifth seed, Stosur lost to Germany's Julia Görges in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. However, she won in the doubles tournament, partnering Germany's Sabine Lisicki, by defeating the German team of Kristina Barrois and Jasmin Wöhr in the final, 6–1, 7–6.

Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where she was the fifth seed. She lost in the third round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6–7, 3–6. She then competed in Rome. The sixth-seeded Stosur reached the final, but suffered a straight-set 2–6, 4–6 defeat to seventh seed Sharapova.

Stosur was seeded eighth at the 2011 French Open, yet was upset by Gisela Dulko, 6–4, 1–6, 3–6, in the third round. This loss meant that Stosur's ranking dropped to world no. 10.

Stosur's next tournament was the 2011 AEGON International as seventh seed. Stosur progressed to the semifinals, where she lost to Marion Bartoli. At Wimbledon, Stosur suffered a first-round loss to world no. 262 Melinda Czink. In mixed doubles, Stosur partnered with Mike Bryan, but lost in the first round. In ladies doubles, Stosur partnered with Sabine Lisicki. Along the way, the pair upset the top seeds and defending champions Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round. Stosur and Lisicki made it to the final, but lost in straight sets to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, 3–6, 1–6.

Stosur began her US Open Series campaign with a straight-set loss to her doubles partner, Lisicki, in the second round of Bank of the West Classic, 3–6, 5–7. However, Stosur bounced back at the Rogers Cup in Toronto by reaching the final, having defeated Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska along the way. Stosur was defeated by Serena Williams in the final, 4–6, 2–6. She then competed in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She defeated qualifier Eleni Daniilidou, 6–3, 6–1, in the first round. She would then face Serena Williams for the second week in a row in the second round. However, Williams withdrew because of a toe injury, which meant a walkover for Stosur. In the third round, she defeated fifth seed Li Na for the second time in two weeks in three sets, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4. She then faced Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals and lost in straight sets, 3–6, 2–6.

Stosur was seeded ninth at the US Open, and she drew Sofia Arvidsson in the first round and defeated her, 6–2, 6–3.^[7] In the second round, she defeated American Coco Vandeweghe, 6–3, 6–4.^[8] The third round was one of Stosur's hardest matches against Nadia Petrova, finally prevailing 7–6, 6–7, 7–5 after a 3 hour 16 minute battle.^[9] She played Maria Kirilenko in the fourth round and won 6–2, 6–7^15–17, 6–3. The second set tiebreak score of 15–17 was the longest in any Major in the history of women's tennis.^[10] She then beat second seed Vera Zvonareva, 6–3, 6–3, to reach the semifinals for the first time.^[11] Stosur followed this milestone with a 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 win over German player Angelique Kerber to reach her first US Open singles final,^[12] where she defeated three-time champion Serena Williams, 6–2, 6–3, for her first Grand Slam tournament singles title,^[13][14][15] the first by an Australian woman since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980.^[16]

Stosur suffered two second round losses at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the 2011 China Open, both to Maria Kirilenko. However, on 9 October 2011 it was announced that Stosur had qualified for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.

Stosur was runner-up at the 2011 HP Open where she was defeated by second seed, Marion Bartoli, 6–3, 6–1 in the final. Along the way she defeated Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, Misaki Doi, 6–2, 6–4, seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers, 6–2, 6–3 and Zheng Jie, 7–6(5), 3–6, 6–3.

Stosur was placed in the white group for the 2011 WTA Tour Championships. Stosur's first match was against second seed Maria Sharapova, winning the match, 6–1, 7–5. In this match, not only did Stosur cause an upset against the second seed, she won her first match against the Russian after losing to Sharapova in their previous nine encounters. In addition, Stosur has won six of her last seven matches against current top 2 players. (The only loss against a current top two player at that time was world no. 1, Serena Williams in the 2010 Australian Open.) In Stosur's second round robin match, she lost to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka 6–2, 6–2. This was her fifth loss against Azarenka and has yet to win a single set from Azarenka. Stosur thrashed fifth seed Li Na 6–1, 6–0 in her final round robin match to advance to the semifinals for the second straight year, where she met maroon group winner, Petra Kvitova for a spot in the final. She lost the match 5–7 6–3 6–3, despite being 7–5 1–0 up with a break point to go 2–0. Despite the loss, this was the first time Stosur won a set against Kvitova. Kvitova went on to defeat Azarenka in the final, making it the second consecutive year that Stosur lost to the eventual champion in the semifinals. Because of Stosur's performance at the WTA Championships, she replaced Vera Zvonareva as the World Number 6, and will finish the season ranked 6 for the second straight year.

2012[link]

Seeded first, Stosur started the year lost in the second round of the Brisbane International to Iveta Benesova 4–6, 2–6. Stosur then suffered two first round defeats at the hands of Francesca Schiavone at the Apia International Sydney 2–6, 4–6, and then by Romanian Sorana Cîrstea 6–7(2), 3–6 at the Australian Open. Stosur admitted that the she could not cope under the heavy weight of home expectation especially after winning the 2011 U.S. Open.^[17] Despite the result, Stosur's ranking remained at no 5. due to her not having too many ranking points to lose and Li Na failing to defend her finalist points at last year's Australian Open. Stosur then traveled to Fribourg, Switzerland to represent Australia in their Fed Cup tie against Switzerland. She won both of her singles rubbers against Timea Bacsinszky 6–2, 7–5 and Stefanie Voegele 6–3, 6–2.

She then competed at the 2012 Qatar Total Open in Doha where she was seeded three and avenged her loss in the first round of the Australian Open by defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 7-6(5) in the second round and eventually lost in the final to current world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who had not lost a match (17–0) to that point in 2012. Her second Middle-East tournament was the 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships where she defeated Lucie Safarova in the second round 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-1 but for the second straight year lost to former world number no. 1 Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 2-6.

Stosur then traveled to the USA to compete in two premier tournaments, the first being 2012 BNP Paribas Open where she defeated young American Irina Falconi 6-0, 6-3 to make the third round where she lost a very tough match to Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-7(5). Then at the Miami Stosur made the quarterfinsls after making a big comeback from 2-6, 2-5 to defeat Chanelle Scheepers 2-6, 7-5, 6-2. Serena Williams got revenge on Stosur for the 2011 US Open final by defeating Sam 7-5, 6-3.

At the 2012 Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Stosur entered the tournament as second seed and had a first round bye. Stosur defeated wild card player Jamie Hampton 6–0, 7–5 in the second round and Galina Voskoboeva 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 in the third round. At the quarterfinals, Stosur defeated Venus Williams for the first time 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 after losing to her in the previous four encounters. However, Stosur's run ended in the semifinals where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams 1–6 1–6. Had Stosur won against Serena, she would be been the eighth player to defeat both Williams sisters at any one tournament.

After this Stosur made her way to Stuttgart were she won both her singles matches against Germany in the Fed-Cup World Group play-off. She defeated two top twenty players Angelique Kerber, the same player who Stosur faced in the 2011 US Open semifinal and Andrea Petkovic for their first ever head-to-head match. At the WTA event in the same city, Stosur reached the quarterfinals by defeating the defending champion Julia Georges in three sets. She lost in the quarterfinals to Maria Sharapova 7–6, 6–7, 5–7 despite holding a match point in the second set.

At the third Premier Mandatory event in Madrid, Stosur defeated Petra Martic 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(5) and Christina McHale 2–6, 6–4, 6–0 in the first two rounds on the blue clay courts. Stosur's third round opponent will be Petra Cetkovska, who defeated tenth seed Vera Zvonareva and Lourdes Domínguez Lino in straight sets. Stosur won the match in straight sets 6–3, 6–2 to reach the quarterfinals where she lost a tight match to Lucie Hradecka 7-6(8), 7-6(6).

Rivalries[link]

Stosur vs. Serena Williams[link]

Currently, Williams leads 6–3 in head to head matches. Their first match occurred during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the second round when Williams was ranked world no. 4, with Williams winning 6–2, 6–0. Since then, both players have been equally matched. Both players even had match points against each other, but lost the match in the end. Such examples of this include Stosur having four match points at the 2009 Medibank International, but lost to Williams. Another example was the 2010 French Open where Williams had a match point, but Stosur won. The only time both players didn't play a complete match was at the 2011 Western and Southern Group Open in the second round where Williams withdrew from the match due to a toe injury. They met at the 2011 US Open final where Stosur prevailed 6–3, 6–2, despite Serena's status as a heavy favourite. Serena avenged the defeat at the 2012 Miami Masters, where Williams defeated Stosur 7–5, 6–3. They next met a week later at the 2012 Family Circle Cup where Williams again defeated Stosur 6–1, 6–1.

Some of these matches were marked by controversy. In the 2010 Australian Open fourth round match, Seven Network stopped broadcast of that match in order to air their news program. Then at the 2011 US Open Final Williams shouted 'C'mon!' during a crucial point in the match before Stosur had a chance to hit the ball and Williams was docked the point.

Stosur vs. Schiavone[link]

Currently, Stosur leads 6–4 in head to head matches. Their major matches include the 2009 final of HP Open in Osaka where Stosur lifted her first WTA singles title, and the 2010 French Open final where both players reached their first ever grand slam final, but with Schiavone coming out on top despite Stosur being the heavy favorite to win the championship.

Stosur vs. Zvonareva[link]

Currently, Stosur leads 8–2 in their head to head matches. In their first two meetings, Zvonareva won both of those matches. After that, Stosur has won the last eight matches, including the 2010 Family Circle Cup final and the 2011 US Open quarterfinal match.

Playing style[link]

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General
An accomplished doubles player, Stosur in her early years developed a serve and volley style of play but as the years progressed, she started to feel more comfortable hitting on the baseline and coming to the net less often. Although she is known for being a doubles specialist and having great volleys and drop-shots while playing doubles, in her singles matches, Stosur has a tendency to miss-hit these shots. Her right-handed forehand ground-strokes, hit with heavy top-spin, are considered her best, as evidenced by her often choosing to hit inside-out forehands. She can hit forehand winners from any side of the court, and her motion when hitting her forehands makes it hard for her opponents to guess where she will hit it to. Accordingly, many players attack her backhand side, which was considered a weakness of her game; however in 2010, Stosur adopted Pat Rafter's signature backhand slice, to add to her game and help her set up points. She has also improved on her two-handed backhand and has even generated winners on occasion. Stosur is also noted for her athleticism and after bouncing back from a career-threatening Lyme's Disease, she has became one of the fittest players on tour.

Serve
Because of its power, kick and variety, Stosur's serve is widely considered one of the best on the women's tour. Her first serve, however erratic, reaches more than 118 mph (190 km/h) on a regular basis. Her second, a high bouncing kick serve, is highly rated as being the best second serve in the women's game by media and players alike, and was thought to play a key role in her French Open success in 2009 and 2010. One thing that Stosur has changed in her game, thanks to coach David Taylor, is the fact that her serve has been less predictable with Stosur sometimes even using her kick serve as first serves. Her good serving motion has helped her overhead smashes and she rarely misses those shots.

Surface
Her favourite surface is hard court. Stosur has also mentioned that her least favourite surface is grass and this is mostly because her biggest weapons (top-spin forehand & kick-serve) are not very effective on this surface. Her performances at Wimbledon have reflected this, as she has only gone past the second round once on the lone grass-court Grand Slam event.

Weakness
In her earlier years on the WTA tour, Stosur's real weakness was her inability to handle the pressure at major matches and being poor at closing out matches. In her first four WTA tour finals, she won the first set only to lose the match. On her off-days, she can hit over 50 unforced errors. She has shown great improvement in these areas, and the weaknesses are seen less frequently now, as evidenced by her calm dispatch of the four-time Roland Garros champion and former World No. 1 Justine Henin; one time Roland Garros champion and the then-current World No. 1 Serena Williams; and former World No. 1 Jelena Janković, in the 4th round, quarter-final and semi-final at the 2010 Roland Garros.

Singles performance timeline[link]

Grand Slam tournaments[link]

Singles: 2 finals (1 title, 1 runner-up)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score	Ref
Runner-up	2010	French Open	Clay	Francesca Schiavone	4–6, 6–7(2–7)	[18]
Winner	2011	US Open	Hard	Serena Williams	6–2, 6–3	[13]

References[link]

• Sports Illustrated column by doubles partner Lisa Raymond

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Samantha Stosur

• Official website
• Profile on Tennis Australia
• Samantha Stosur at the Women's Tennis Association
• Samantha Stosur at the International Tennis Federation
• Samantha Stosur at the International Tennis Federation Junior Profile
• Samantha Stosur at the Fed Cup
• http://tennis-prose.com/articles/biofile-with-samantha-stosur/
• Samantha Stosur at the Internet Movie Database
• Tennis gear and equipment used by Samantha Stosur

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Paola Suárez & Virginia Ruano Pascual	WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Lisa Raymond) 2005, 2006	Succeeded by Cara Black & Liezel Huber
Preceded by Paola Suárez & Virginia Ruano Pascual	ITF Doubles Champions (with Lisa Raymond) 2005, 2006	Succeeded by Cara Black & Liezel Huber
Preceded by Elena Dementieva	WTA Diamond Aces 2010	Succeeded by Caroline Wozniacki