Liudmila Samsonova’s New Mindset Is Paying Off at the Mubadala DC Open

By Chloe Wellington-Hunt

Liudmila Samsonova defeated Xinyu Wang 6-2,6-2 Wednesday to reach the Mubadala DC Open quarter-finals. The Russian talent and former DC tournament winner the event in Washington, D.C. in 2022, earning her first career hard-court title at the WTA 500 event and spoke to WorldTennisMagazine.com exclusively after her second round win about her career, personality and new on-court mindset.

While Samsonova achieved a career high singles ranking of No. 12, reached in 2023, something looks different and promising in her game now. What’s unique about Samsonova’s play now, compared to previous seasons, is that it seems effortless. She doesn’t appear stressed, even during long, contested points.

So what’s changed? Well, for Samsonova, it’s not about fixing one shot or changing one technical aspect of her game. It’s about playing freely and confidently.

“What I’m feeling during these days, it’s that I’m free,” Samsonova said with respect to her match play. “I’m free and it’s something that, seriously, I was looking and searching a lot of years, a lot of time in my career, in my life.”

And now, after personal struggles and turmoil, it has clicked, and Samsonova is feeling that freedom on the court.

“I had so many personal tough moments, like heavy moments, let’s say,” Samsonova said. “So now to be able to just enjoy…I’m able to put my tennis on the court, you know?”

What she loves about tennis is the freedom to go out there and push her limits.

“So on the court, I think [I’m] very aggressive,” she said. “And I love to see my limits, you know? I love to enjoy, to try to do things that others cannot do. So this is why I enjoy playing tennis.”

While casual tennis fans might not know Samsonova’s personality, she appears incredibly stoic on the court–the opposite of her person away of tennis.

Her facial expressions completely differ on and off the court. While she identifies as a “funny person,” anyone watching her play would see a serious, almost expressionless player, even during tough points.

“I smile a lot, off the court, I’m super smiley,” she said. “On the court, I don’t smile.”

Preparing to play another round in Washington, a city where spectators may not know the non-American WTA players as well, Samsonova shared a bit of what sets her apart, not as a player but as a person.

“I love animals,” she said. “It’s the thing I love most off the court, honestly. I don’t do many things, you know? I’m very introverted, I like to stay with my family, my closest ones.”

As for her game, one aspect that’s clicking easily is her serve. Samsonova smiled about her service game in the Round of 16 here in DC. Standing at 6 feet tall, Samsonova’s serve sets her game apart. On Grandstand Court in Rock Creek Park, fans–young to old, male to female–audibly “ooh”-ed every time Samsonova fired off a first serve.

“It doesn’t mean that every match is going to be super good,” Samsonova said. “Today was unbelievable, yes…But I’m happy because I’m working on it. I’m trying to improve it because it’s my best shot, one of my best shots.”

Samsonova won nearly 80% of points off her first serve and close to 65% of points off her second serve, impressive statistics for a player changing surfaces, moving from grass to hard court.

“So the last couple of months, actually, let’s say from the grass season, I try to, not coming back, but to, let’s say, come even better than before with my serve,” Samsonova said. “We are working very hard on the serve right now and we are focused on the serve.”

As she works on her serve, the actual conditions in Washington only help.

“The conditions in Washington, ball plus the court, it’s a mix which I like. And I always like it,” Samsonova said. “Every time that I came here, I was feeling the ball great…So I’m lucky and I love to be here in Washington.”

Samsonova admitted sometimes she doesn’t like to travel; however, the DC Open feels different. “But to come to Washington I’m happy,” she said with a smile.

When asked what her post-match routine will be as she prepares for the quarterfinals, Samsonova shared that she will not be resting.

“No, no, I have to go out. I have to do something, because the routine is killing me,” she smiled. “So, no, no, I have to go around. I have to go to see Washington a bit, absolutely.”

The 27-year-old player was born in Russia but moved to Italy at a young age. Training in Bordighera, Italy, she trained alongside a familiar name–Jannik Sinner–at the academy, where both players were coached by Riccardo Piatti and Danilo Pizzorno.

But, for some inexplicable reason, she feels more Russian than Italian.

“You know, my dream was always, since I was a child, to play for Russia,” she said. “There is no explanation, because I grew up in Italy, so everyone is like, ‘but you feel more Russian?’ And I say, ‘yes, I feel more Russian.’”

Her tennis dream as a Russian player? 2028, Los Angeles.

“I don’t know why, but it is what it is. And I love Italy, but inside of me, in my heart, I always dream, you know, with a big [Russian] flag on the Olympics. It was always my dream.”

After years of searching for freedom in her tennis, Samsonova believes she has finally found it. If the way she’s playing in Washington is any indication, the rest of the WTA Tour may be seeing a different version of her, too.