Liudmila Samsonova

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In this Eastern Slavic naming convention, the patronymic is Dmitriyevna and the family name is Samsonova.
Liudmila Samsonova
Samsonova WMQ19 (5).jpg
Samsonova at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports) Russia
(2013; 2018–)
 Italy
(2014–2018)
Born (1998-11-11) 11 November 1998 (age 22)
Olenegorsk, Russia
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro2013
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 975,044
Singles
Career record206–125 (62.2%)
Career titles1 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 48 (13 September 2021)
Current rankingNo. 48 (13 September 2021)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (2021)
French Open1R (2019, 2020)
Wimbledon4R (2021)
US Open2R (2021)
Doubles
Career record28–28 (50.0%)
Career titles2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 666 (7 August 2017)
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open1R (2021)
Last updated on: 1 September 2021.

Liudmila Dmitriyevna Samsonova (Russian: Людмила Дмитриевна Самсонова, IPA: [lʲʊdˈmʲiɫə sɐmˈsonəvə]; born 11 November 1998) is a Russian tennis player. She also competed for Italy from 2014 to 2018. Samsonova has career high WTA rankings of world No. 51 in singles, achieved on 16 August 2021, and No. 666 in doubles, reached on 7 August 2017. She won her first WTA Tour title at the 2021 German Open- a WTA 500 title in June 2021. She has also won total six titles on the ITF Circuit.

Early life[]

Samsonova was born 11 November 1998 in the industrial city of Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Their family moved with the then-one-year-old Liudmila to Italy. Her father Dmitry, a table tennis player, was invited to play for the club "Ferentino" based in Torino. Her father urged her to start playing either table tennis or lawn tennis, choosing the latter. She started playing tennis at the age of six, joining Riccardo Piatti's tennis academy in Sanremo after the local tennis federation helped her financially with that. Until 2018, Liudmila represented Italy in professional tennis, before switching to the Russian flag.[1]

In July 2021, she explained the reason behind her decision was the extra pressure of competing for the Italian national team, a country where tennis is more followed than in Russia where she feels like competing only for herself, especially considering her "boom boom" hard-hitting game style.[2] Russian sources were more specific about all the reasons behind the unusual switch after turning 18 in the light of significant amount of local players switching from the Russian flag[3] According to the Tennis Weekend, Samsonova faced problems obtaining Italian citizenship and there was a certain shortage of support for her as an immigrant from the Italian Tennis Federation.[4] She keeps practicing outside of Russia, as she is unsatisfied with the condition for professional tennis provided by the Russian Tennis Federation domestically.

Liudmila admitted that if her parents had stayed in Russia she would have chosen figure skating.[1] She speaks Italian as a native language and English as her second one, while her Russian is surprisingly good considering a lack of practice.[1][4]

Professional career[]

Junior years[]

Samsonova reached her highest ITF junior ranking on 18 July 2016, peaking at the 65th spot on the rankings.[5] Her biggest achievements were winning consecutive ITF Junior Circuit Grade 2 tournaments in 2016, defeating notable players such as Kaja Juvan and Marta Kostyuk.[6]

2013–2016: ITF debut, first ITF titles[]

In 2013, Samsonova made her professional debut at consecutive ITF Circuit tournaments in Umag, but lost both her singles matches.

2014 saw Samsonova winning her first ITF title at a $10k event in Rome, beating three seeded players to clinch the victory despite being unranked. Her triumph allowed her debut on the WTA rankings at the 960th spot.

The upcoming two years saw the Russian struggle on the ITF Circuit, amassing a 11–12 win/loss record which caused her ranking to stagnate outside the best 1000 players. Nonetheless, she managed to return to the top 1000 towards the end of 2016, after reaching the final of an $10k event in Solarino.

2017–2018: Breakthrough on the ITF Circuit[]

Samsonova's first real breakthrough came when she was leaving her teenage years. Reaching three $15k finals in Hammamet, Pula and Mâcon in 2017, respectively, the Russian almost halved her ranking and ended the year ranked 552nd.[7]

2018 was another decent year for Samsonova, having reached a total of four finals. Overriding her personal best results, the Russian won her first $25k title at the Open Castilla y León, stunning third seed Başak Eraydın in the final with the loss of just two games.[8]

Samsonova caused a huge shock at the Open de Saint-Malo, an $60k event, coming through three rounds of qualifying to lift the biggest title of her career and breaking the top 200 for the first time in her career.[9][10] A 40-21 win/loss record helped Samsonova end the year inside the top 200 for the first time in her career.

2019: WTA and Grand Slam debut[]

Samsonova at the 2019 ITF Poitiers

Samsonova started the year with her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, but was defeated in the second qualifying round by Karolína Muchová. Choosing to compete in higher-level WTA tournaments with her ranking, the Russian fell in the qualifying rounds of Premier tournaments in St. Petersburg, Doha[11] and Dubai.

After a five-match losing streak to start the clay-court season, Samsonova stunned several higher-ranked players, including tenth seed Marie Bouzková, to qualify for the main draw at the French Open on her first attempt.[12] Despite losing in the first round to 23rd seed Donna Vekić, she reached a new career-high ranking after the tournament.[13][14]

Reaching her second WTA Tour main draw at the rain-plagued Nottingham Open, Samsonova continued her good run of form before falling to former top-15 player Yanina Wickmayer in the final round of qualifying at the Wimbledon Championships, on her debut.

Samsonova received her first direct entry into a WTA Tour main draw at the Ladies Open Lausanne, but lost to lucky loser Han Xinyun in the second round. In the following week, despite losing to Amandine Hesse in the final qualifying round of the Internazionali di Palermo, she received an entry into the main draw by virtue of an emptied lucky-loser spot. There, she stunned fourth seed and 56th-ranked Tamara Zidanšek in straight sets,[15] before hitting 41 winners to beat Lausanne champion Fiona Ferro in the quarterfinals to make her first WTA semifinal. However, she ran out of steam as she was defeated by eventual champion Jil Teichmann, in straight sets.[16]

Choosing not to defend her title in Saint-Malo, her ranking dipped from 131 to 163 in September but qualifying for the main draw at the Tashkent Open allowed her to improve her ranking. Going into the ITF Poitiers, an $80k event, unseeded and looming, Samsonova strolled into the final without losing a set but lost to rising star Nina Stojanović, in straight sets.[17] Her good run continued at the WTA 125k event, Open de Limoges, and reached the quarterfinals by beating top-100 players Camila Giorgi and Alizé Cornet.[18][19]

She ended the year with a 32–27 win/loss record with an impressive nine top-100 wins, partly due to competing in more WTA tournaments and facing tougher draws in the process.

2020: Steady presence on the WTA Tour[]

Starting the year at the Premier-level Brisbane International, Samsonova survived the qualifying rounds which included a straight-sets win over Kristina Mladenovic.[20] Drawing former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the first round of the main draw, she clinched the best win of her career by beating the American in three sets, serving ten aces in the process and blasting countless winners with her "fearless aggression".[21] Although she was defeated by world No. 7, Petra Kvitová, in the second round, Samsonova headed to the Australian Open with a new career-high ranking of No. 118.[22]

Beating Wang Xiyu in the final qualifying round, Samsonova qualified for the main draw in Melbourne for the first time in her career.[23] Drawing former French Open champion, Jeļena Ostapenko, in the first round, she was outpowered and committed 24 unforced errors en route a straight-sets defeat.[24] In the match, Samsonova also set the record of hitting the fastest serve on the women's side throughout the entire tournament in 2020.[25]

Heading back to Russia for the St. Petersburg Trophy, she qualified for the main draw but fell to fellow Russian Anastasia Potapova in the first round.[26] Similar to 2019, Samsonova failed to qualify for the main draw at the Qatar Open and the Dubai Championships before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tour to go on a hiatus for a couple of months.

With the tour resuming at the Internazionali di Palermo, Samsonova took part in the qualifying rounds and defeated Marta Kostyuk for the second time this year en-route qualifying for the main draw. Defeating Kirsten Flipkens in the first round,[27] and exacting revenge for her two losses to the Belgian in 2019, Samsonova set up an interesting clash with top seed Petra Martić. Despite leading by a set, Samsonova was unable to beat the Croatian, who ultimately reached the semifinals.[28]

2021: Maiden WTA title, Wimbledon debut and fourth round, top 60 debut[]

At the German Open in Berlin, starting as a qualifier, she reached her first final of a WTA tournament, defeating en-route compatriot Veronika Kudermetova, Madison Keys, and in the semifinal two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka (6–4, 6–2).[29][30] In the final, she upset world No. 12, Belinda Bencic, in three sets to win her maiden WTA title in her career.[31] With this run she climbed 43 spots to reach a career-high ranking of world No. 63, on 21 June 2021.[32] As a result, she also received a wildcard into the main draw of Wimbledon where she played for the first time in her career.[33] There she reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career after defeating Kaia Kanepi, 22nd seed Jessica Pegula and former Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens. Following this best run in her career, she made her top 60 debut.

Performance timeline[]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS P NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win/loss records.[34]

Singles[]

Current after the 2021 US Open.

Tournaments 2019 2020 2021 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open Q2 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
French Open 1R 1R Q1 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Wimbledon Q3 NH 4R 0 / 1 3–1 75%
US Open Q2 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Win–Loss 0–1 0–3 5–3 0 / 7 5–7 42%
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open Q2 Q2 A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Miami Open A NH 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Italian Open A Q1 Q1 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Canadian Open A NH 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Cincinnati Open A Q2 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Career statistics
Tournaments 6 6 13 Career total: 25
Titles 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Finals 0 0 1 Career total: 1
Overall W–L 4–6 2–6 15–12 1 / 25 21–24 47%
Year-end ranking 139 127 $629,704

WTA career finals[]

Singles: 1 (1 title)[]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments
WTA 1000
WTA 500
WTA 250
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2021 German Open WTA 500 Grass Switzerland Belinda Bencic 1–6, 6–1, 6–3

ITF Circuit finals[]

Singles: 11 (4 titles, 7 runner–ups)[]

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jun 2014 ITF Rome, Italy 10,000 Clay Switzerland Tess Sugnaux 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Win 2–0 Nov 2016 ITF Solarino, Italy 10,000 Carpet Netherlands Kelly Versteeg 3–6, 6–0, 6–1
Loss 2–1 Mar 2017 ITF Mâcon, France 15,000 Hard (i) France Mallaurie Noël 5–7, 2–6
Loss 2–2 May 2017 ITF Pula, Italy 15,000 Clay Chile Fernanda Brito 3–6, 3–6
Loss 2–3 Dec 2017 ITF Hammamet, Tunisia 15,000 Clay Russia Daria Lodikova 6–7(8), 4–6
Loss 2–4 Mar 2018 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 15,000 Hard Bulgaria Julia Terziyska 7–6(4), 0–6, 6–7(4)
Loss 2–5 Jun 2018 ITF Padua, Italy 25,000 Clay France Fiona Ferro 5–7, 3–6
Win 3–5 Aug 2018 ITF El Espinar, Spain 25,000 Hard Turkey Başak Eraydın 6–2, 6–0
Win 4–5 Sep 2018 Open de Saint-Malo, France 60,000+H Clay Ukraine Katarina Zavatska 6–0, 6–2
Loss 4–6 Oct 2019 ITF Poitiers, France 80,000 Hard (i) Serbia Nina Stojanović 2–6, 6–7(2)
Loss 4–7 Oct 2020 ITF Reims, France 25,000 Hard (i) France Océane Dodin 4–6, 2–6

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner–up)[]

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$80,000 tournaments
$60,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Sep 2015 ITF Pula, Italy 10,000 Clay Italy Bianca Turati Belgium India Maggen
Switzerland Tess Sugnaux 		6–4, 6–2
Win 2–0 Aug 2016 ITF Tarvisio, Italy 10,000 Clay Italy Chiara Quattrone Italy Angelica Moratelli
Italy Anna-Giulia Remondina 		3–6, 6–4, [10–6]
Loss 2–1 Dec 2017 ITF Cordenons, Italy 15,000 Clay (i) Italy Lucia Bronzetti Italy Federica Di Sarra
Italy Michele Alexandra Zmău 		2–6, 6–1, [8–10]

Head-to-head records[]

Record against top 10 players[]

Active players are in boldface.[35]

Player Record W% Hard Clay Grass Last match
No. 1 ranked players
Belarus Victoria Azarenka 1–1 50% 0–1 – 1–0 Lost (2–6, 3–6) at 2021 Cincinnati 1R
Spain Garbiñe Muguruza 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (3–6, 1–6) at 2021 Australian Open 1R
Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková 0–1 0% – – 0–1 Lost (2–6, 3–6) at 2021 Wimbledon 4R
No. 2 ranked players
Czech Republic Petra Kvitová 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2020 Brisbane 2R
No. 3 ranked players
United States Sloane Stephens 2–0 100% 1–0 – 1–0 Won (6–2, 2–6, 6–4) at 2021 Wimbledon 3R
No. 4 ranked players
Switzerland Belinda Bencic 1–0 100% – – 1–0 Won (1–6, 6–1, 6–3) at 2021 Berlin F
Netherlands Kiki Bertens 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–2, 6–1) at 2021 Miami Open 2R
United States Sofia Kenin 0–1 0% – 0–1 – Lost (4–6, 6–3, 3–6) at 2020 French Open 1R
No. 5 ranked players
Latvia Jeļena Ostapenko 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (1–6, 4–6) at 2020 Australian Open 1R
No. 7 ranked players
United States Madison Keys 1–0 100% – – 1–0 Won (7–6(7–4), 2–6, 7–6(7–0)) at 2021 Berlin QF
No. 10 ranked players
France Kristina Mladenovic 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–1, 6–4) at 2020 Brisbane Q2
Total 6–6 50% 3–4
(43%) 		0–1
(0%) 		3–1
(75%) 		Current after 2021 Cincinnati

Notes[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Imamov, Rustam (20 June 2021). "Открытие турнира в Берлине. Россиянка Самсонова раньше играла за Италию. Как мы переманили молодой талант?" [Breakthrough of the Berlin Tournament. Russian Player Samsonova Started Playing for Italy. How Could We Entice This Young Talent?]. sport-express.ru (in Russian). Sport Express. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Champions Corner: Samsonova goes 'boom boom' in Berlin breakthrough". wtatennis.com. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  3. ^ Nitkin, Pavel. "Елена Рыбакина вынесла Серену на РГ. Она родилась в Москве, но играет за Казахстан – это путь многих талантов, потому что в России нет денег" [Elena Rybakina rendered Serena at RG. She was born in Moscow but plays for Kazakhstan, this is a path of many talents because there is no money in Russia]. sports.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Ivanov, Mikhail. "Своя среди чужих, чужая среди своих?" [Friend to Strangers, Stranger to Friends?] (PDF). Tennis Weekend (Jul-Aug 2021): 24–27. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  5. ^ "ITF Tennis | Liudmila Samsonova Juniors". itftennis.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  6. ^ "ITF Tennis | Liudmila Samsonova Juniors Results". www.itftennis.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  7. ^ "Liudmila Samsonova | Ranking History | Weekly & Yearly Rankings – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  8. ^ "Eraydin y Samsonova, finalistas del Open Castilla y León-Villa de El Espinar". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 2018-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  9. ^ Cau, Giuliana. "Ludmilla Samsonova: "Il mio potenziale resta russo, ma l'Italia è la mia vera casa"". Tennis Circus (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  10. ^ "Open 35 Saint-Malo. Le triomphe de la jeunesse". Le Telegramme (in French). 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  11. ^ "Strycova cruises to kick off Qatar Total Open". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  12. ^ "Mix of veterans, newcomers book spots in French Open main draw on final day of qualifying". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  13. ^ "Liudmila Samsonova vs Donna Vekic". www.rolandgarros.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  14. ^ "French Open 2019, Day 2 roundup: Konta moves past Lottner, Kanepi stuns Goerges". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  15. ^ "'Everything was so good!' - Samsonova too strong for Zidansek in Palermo". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  16. ^ "WTA roundup: Teichmann, Samsonova advance at Palerm". Reuters. 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  17. ^ "Nina Stojanovic wins ITF singles title at Poitiers". Tennis World USA. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  18. ^ Scognamiglio, Pietro (2019-12-17). "La nuova stagione di Giorgi parte male: KO a Limoges contro Samsonova". Ubitennis (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  19. ^ "Tennis, WTA 125K Limoges 2019: Samsonova elimina anche Cornet, Parmentier vince il derby con Garcia". Your Site NAME Goes HERE (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  20. ^ "Mladenovic vs. Samsonova | Qualifying Brisbane International 2020 | WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  21. ^ "Osaka, Kvitova win openers in Brisbane". ausopen.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  22. ^ "Brisbane: Osaka survives, Barty stunned". ausopen.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  23. ^ "Trevisan beats Bouchard in Australian Open qualifying to make Slam debut". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  24. ^ Martinez, Rudy (2020-01-21). "Australian Open 2020: Jelena Ostapenko wins against Ludmilla Samsonova". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  25. ^ Melbourne, Stuart Fraser, Tennis Correspondent. "Australian Open: Coco Gauff is a fast learner who fears no one". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  26. ^ "Focused Potapova primed for St. Petersburg breakthrough". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  27. ^ "Ook Kirsten Flipkens is er niet in geslaagd om de eerste ronde in Palermo te overleven". Tenniskrant.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  28. ^ "Martic survives Samsonova to book Palermo quarterfinals". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
  29. ^ https://www.wtatennis.com/news/2174828/samsonova-shocks-azarenka-sets-berlin-final-meeting-with-bencic
  30. ^ https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/31668337/belinda-bencic-end-two-year-title-wait-berlin-open-face-liudmilla-samsonova-final
  31. ^ https://www.wtatennis.com/news/2175444/qualifier-samsonova-stuns-bencic-charges-to-first-title-in-berlin
  32. ^ https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/ranking-reaction-liudmila-samsonova-bursts-into-top-100-after-win-in-berlin
  33. ^ http://www.tennisnow.com/News/2021/June/Samsonova-Captures-Berlin-to-Become-the-WTA-s-10th.aspx
  34. ^ "Liudmila Samsonova". Australian Open. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  35. ^ admin. "Head To Head". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 18 June 2021.

External links[]

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