Russian-born Liudmila Dmitrievna Samsonova is an accomplished tennis player who, from 2014 to 2018, also competed for Italy. Samsonova had a successful career, climbing as high as number twelve in singles and 40th in doubles in the WTA rankings. Despite being of Russian descent, Liudmila Samsonova lived in Italy for a significant portion of her life and continued to train there until 2018.
Dmitry and Svetlana Samsonova welcomed Liudmila into the world in 1998. A member of the club “Ferentino” in Torino, her father plays table tennis. She was urged to pick up either table tennis or lawn tennis at her father’s insistence, and she ultimately chose the latter as evident from her incredible gameplay.
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Following her qualification at Roland Garros in 2019, the Russian tennis player made the Grand Slam main-draw debut of her career. Samsonova’s career experienced a turning point in 2021. She gained fame when she won her first WTA championship at the Berlin Open, beating some of the top-ranked competitors in the process. Her ranking went up and her status as a rising star in women’s tennis was cemented with her triumph.
Samsonova is still dominating the tennis rankings in 2023, even though she doesn’t have any victories in important competitions. She is currently ranked 12 by the WTA.
Liudmila Samsonova couldn’t escape the scheduling fiasco at the Canadian Open
In a semifinal that was postponed due to rain on Sunday but was originally scheduled to begin on Saturday, Liudmila Samsonova battled back to defeat the third-seeded Elena Rybakina 1-6 6-1 6-2. Samsonova had only approximately two hours of rest before facing Jessica Pegula for the Canadian Open title.
“I feel so tired, honestly. I don’t know how I managed today.” Samsonova, who participated in two bouts on Friday to qualify for the semi-final, stated. The scheduling error was made clear when Pegula, who had just won her Saturday semifinal. She was matched up against Samsonova, who had just finished a three-set, energy-draining match against Elena Rybakina.
LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA HAS DONE IT!
She stuns World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 to reach her first career WTA1000 quarterfinal at the National Bank Open.
ICE COLD nerves in the match, saving 11/13 break points to fend off a tough fightback from Sabalenka. Brilliant! pic.twitter.com/VtrvcR6Cnk
— WTARussians (@WTArussians) August 11, 2023
In many ways, the outcome was predicted. Pegula won eleven straight games, giving Samsonova little time to gather her breath or get back into her groove. Although the scoreboard, which read 6-1, 6-0, would have appeared to represent a one-sided game. Those who knew the context saw a more nuanced story being told.
Liudmila Samsonova after losing to Pegula:
“The fans this week, you were unbelievable. You make me crazy, seriously” 🥹
This young woman is so sweet. She’s achieved more than a lot of people ever do, but the media ignores her
Show her some love. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/OVaAx9oWG9
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 13, 2023
Pegula discussed the situation after learning that her competitor was not fully well for their decisive match in Montreal. She congratulated Samsonova and appreciated her hard work and resilience. “I think everybody needs to give her a round of applause because she’s played like five matches in three days,” she said.
At the same time, Samsonova praised Jessica Pegula appropriately by referring to her as a “tough” rival. The American holds three WTA singles titles, including two that she won in WTA 1000 events (Montreal 2023, and Guadalajara 2022).