Russian tennis player Liudmila Samsonova has been in remarkable form this year. She has continued in that vein during the Asian swing as well, but she was in for a surprise in Zhengzhou. Fans were so impressed with her that they threw tennis balls at her. Yes, that is right!
Liudmila took on Tatjana Maria in the Zhengzhou Open on Tuesday. She defeated the German player quite easily, winning the match 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. However, Liudmila had a unique experience following her victory, as fans started throwing tennis balls at her, in the hopes of getting it autographed.
Samsonova was playing in the much smaller Grandstand, where the bleachers are higher up. The height did not deter the fans, though, but Samsonova was certainly taken aback as giant tennis balls rained down on her. The chair umpire intervened immediately to stop the fans.
how 𝙣𝙤𝙩 to get something signed by a tennis player 😅 pic.twitter.com/zVhRRGSMLp
— wta (@WTA) October 12, 2023
As the ground staff tried to stop the fans from littering, Samsonova and the umpire had to clean up the mess. She was on her way out but decided to stay back and help out the staff.
Since the official account of the WTA shared this clip on social media, fans have criticized this behavior. Some labeled the spectators as disrespectful, and another baffled fan commented, “What in the hell??!!” Here are a few more reactions to the incident.
Am I the only one who doesn’t find this funny?
Irrespective of the caption, the WTA sharing it only encourages such behaviour https://t.co/wj231ilAVj
— Ayesha (@kharbandayesha) October 12, 2023
Kinda disrespectful tho https://t.co/yW6WV6E0QI
— Jaime Lannistarth (@j_lannistarth) October 12, 2023
Omigod what in the hell??!! https://t.co/SImEyShjai
— Kat Hazzard 🤦🏾♀️²⁸ – One Direction Encyclopedia (@Kitty_16) October 12, 2023
Liudmila Samsonova has been one of the most consistent performers this year. She kept it up in China too, as she reached the finals in Beijing before losing to Iga Swiatek. Samsonova was impressive at the Zhengzhou Open too, before she fell to Laura Siegemund.
Liudmila Samsonova vs. Laura Siegemund match summary
German player Laura Siegemund caused an upset at the Zhengzhou Open as she knocked Samsonova out. The Russian player was the 11th seed at the tournament, and all eyes were on her after her performance in Beijing. However, she could not defeat Siegemund, who won the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Laura was down a set against Liudmila during their matchup. However, the German player pulled herself by the bootstraps as she crushed Samsonova in the next two sets. With this win, Laura qualified for the quarterfinals.
From qualies to quarterfinals! 💪@laurasiegemund comes from a set down against Beijing finalist Samsonova to advance in Zhengzhou.#ZhengzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/7RcJMOI1KN
— wta (@WTA) October 12, 2023
Liudmila Samsonova has been very impressive throughout the year, even though she does not have much to show for it. She made it to the finals of WTA tournaments, with the latest one being in Beijing.