Liudmila Samsonova

Liudmila Samsonova is a Russian professional tennis player who has recently made significant strides in her WTA career.

Name: Liudmila Samsonova (Dmitrievna)

Birthday: November 11, 1998

Turned Pro: 2013

Height: 1.80m

Further Statistics: click here

Liudmila Dmitrievna Samsonova was born in Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast, Russia.

Samsonova started playing tennis at the age of six, joining Riccardo Piatti’s tennis academy in San Remo after the local tennis federation helped her financially. 

Despite being Russian, Samsonova spent a good part of her life in Italy, where she trained until 2018.

Samsonova initially represented Italy from 2014 to 2018 before transitioning to compete for Russia. She has achieved career-high WTA rankings of No. 12 in singles and No. 40 in doubles.

During the 2020-21 Billie Jean King Cup, she played a pivotal role in guiding the Russian team to their first victory since 2008. She secured victories in all five of her matches, competing in both singles and doubles events. 

Her first WTA Tour title came at the 2021 German Open, a WTA 500 title. Overall, she has won four singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. 

In Wimbledon, she reached the fourth round in 2021.

In terms of her biggest results, Samsonova has had some notable performances. In 2022 she won WTA titles in Tokyo, Cleveland and Washington.

At the China Open in 2023, she reached the final playing Iga Swiatek. In the same year earlier, she also reached the final of the Omnium National Bank presented by Rogers in Toronto, Canada. 

Liudmila Samsonova is known for her aggressive style of play, which can often be unpleasant for her opponents. She has a powerful two-handed backhand and big serves. In fact, in 43 singles matches played in 2023, she served 248 aces (until october 2023). This focus on her game and finding solutions during matches has been a key part of her success. She maintains a calm demeanor on the court and tries to understand what’s happening during the match to improve her play.

In 2024 she wins the Libema Open in the Netherlands by beating Bianca Andreescu.