Tennis champion Sam Stosur has reflected on her decision to publicly share she was in a same-gender relationship.
Stosur shared the personal news back in 2019 via an Instagram post, but she had originally intended to acknowledge her long term partner Liz as she accepted an award.
Chatting to sports broadcast Neroli Meadows on her podcast Orineroli Speaking Stosur recounts that she intended to acknowledge Liz at the 2019 Australia Tennis Awards, but as she stood at the podium thanking her parents, coaches and friends her internal monologue talked her out of making the declaration.
“I accepted that award and got up there and made my speech and as I was going I was like … ‘No, I can’t do it’,” Stosur says on the podcast series which explores the advertiy sportsmen and women have overcome to be successful.
“Once I stepped off stage I was like, ‘What are you doing? You’ve just accepted this award, thanked all these people and the person who is really with you every single day, the person you have the most candid and open discussions with who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you can’t mention them on stage?” Stosur recalled.
“I was like, ‘Nah, that’s ridiculous, I don’t want to do that anymore’”.
Soon after she posted her message to Instagram which included a simple acknowledgement of her partner.
“To my Mum, Dad, Daniel and Dom and my partner Liz, you have given me the love, support and every opportunity to pursue my dream and I’ll be forever grateful.” read part of the message.
In 2020 the couple welcomed their daughter Genevieve into their family.
In the chat Stosur acknowledges that everyone comes out in their own time, and she had been worried that she might lose sponsorship opportunities by sharing her sexuality.
“It’s just that stigma that’s attached to it all, which I think is getting better now, always scared me. Probably just to really open up was always hard for me,” the Tennis champion said.
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