Can soaring Liudmila Samsonova ‘do an Anett Kontaveit’ and qualify for WTA Finals in Forth Worth?

What is it about this time of year on the WTA Tour?

In 2021 it was Anett Kontaveit going on a tear to secure an unlikely-looking place at the season-ending WTA Finals. In 2022 it’s Liudmila Samsonova who is rapidly surging upwards.

Samsonova won the Japan Open without dropping a set a fortnight ago to lift her third title in two months.

She has now:

• Won 18 of her last 19 matches
• Won 36 of her last 40 sets
• Moved up to No. 23 in the world rankings
• Got the best service-hold percentage on the WTA Tour this season (81.8%)
• Moved into contention to qualify for WTA Finals

Just as Caroline Garcia was streaking ahead of the US Open, and Kontaveit did last year when she qualified for the WTA Finals after a superb finish to the season, Samsonova is doing so now. But can the 23-year-old keep it up to book her spot in Fort Worth, Texas?

It’s far from a sure thing right now. Samsonova is 800 points behind Veronika Kudermetova, who is ninth in the standings and currently set to qualify as eight-placed Simona Halep is not playing again this season due to injury. But only two players – world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and world No. 2 Ons Jabeur – have currently qualified for the WTA Finals, so there could be plenty of movement in the standings over the next four weeks.

Samsonova has had a fortnight off after her victory in Japan and returns this week at the San Diego Open, which is a WTA 500 event. She will then head to Guadalajara, which is the last WTA 1000 of the season. There are enough points on offer at those tournaments for her to qualify – 470 to the winner in San Diego and 900 to the champion in Guadalajara – but she will need a strong showing at both to be in with a chance. And making the finals is not something she wants to think about right now.

“Please, I don’t want to hear it!” she joked to the WTA after winning in Tokyo. “Because I know it’s going to be a drama. I’m going to lose first round and first round! No, I’m joking.

“I will try to keep working on my game again. I don’t want to think about the ranking right now. This stuff in the past stopped me. It was tough for me to keep improving if I thought about the rankings. So I don’t want to think about this. I just want to enjoy and play my game.”

Samsonova is an intriguing player with a somewhat complicated background. She was born in Russia but moved to Italy as a one-year-old and played tennis for Italy from 16 to 18, then switched to Russia. “When I started to play for Russia, a lot of pressure came off,” she explained to the WTA last year. “It was a natural thing. I don’t know how to explain it. It was like nobody cares about me so I can play for myself.”

Samsonova, who is now the third-highest ranked Russian woman after Daria Kasatkina and Kudermetova, has described herself as a “very aggressive player” who plays “boom boom” tennis. She has a big serve and a strong game from the baseline. In the Japan Open final against Zheng Qinwen she was able to dominate from the back of the court and looked confident with her hitting. Before Tokyo she won titles in Washington and Cleveland, while she also reached the fourth round of the US Open, where she lost 7-6(8) 6-1 to Ajla Tomljanovic after being 5-2 up in the first set and having eight set points. She also went two for 10 on break points.

Samsonova hit the scene last summer when she won on grass in Berlin as a qualifier, beating Marketa Vondrousova, Veronika Kudermetova, Madison Keys, Victoria Azarenka and Belinda Bencic on her way to the title. But her results this year had not been great until July, when she started working with sports psychologist, Claudia Gambarino.

“I’m understanding very well during the match what is happening,” Samsonova told WTA Insider.

“I’m not getting nervous. I’m always very calm and I’m trying to understand what is going on on the court and what will be the solution to make me play better. That’s the difference. We are talking every day. It’s the work that pays off.”

The nod to Gambarino is similar to Swiatek often paying credit to sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz for some of her success. It’s clearly working for Samsonova, who has looked dialled in and on top of her game lately. Asked what gives her the most joy at the moment, she added: “When I see my opponent is completely lost, this is the most enjoyable thing.

“When I find the solution in this match and I’m going to push it there until the end, that is the most beautiful thing.”

Who will qualify for WTA Finals?

World No. 1 Swiatek and world No. 2 Jabeur are already confirmed for the WTA Finals.

Jessica Pegula is third in the race and looks in a strong position to qualify, but there’s not much between the six below. Just 380 points separate fourth-placed Coco Gauff from ninth-placed Kudermetova. Caroline Garcia, Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina and Halep are in between.

The big points left this season are in San Diego (October 10), and the last WTA 1000 of 2022 in Guadalajara (October 17).

• Points on offer in San Diego: 185 for semi-finals, 305 for runner-up, 470 for winner
• Points on offer in Guadalajara: 350 for semi-finals, 585 for runner-up, 900 for winner

But who will book their spot at the WTA Finals?

Race to the WTA Finals standings – week starting Oct 10

• 1. Iga Swiatek (qualified) – 9,865 points
• 2. Ons Jabeur (qualified) – 4,555 points
• 3. Jessica Pegula – 3,232 points
• 4. Coco Gauff – 2,983 points
• 5. Caroline Garcia – 2,896 points
• 6. Daria Kasatkina – 2,885 points
• 7. Aryna Sabalenka – 2,871 points
• 8. Simona Halep – 2,661 points
• 9. Veronika Kudermetova – 2,606 points
• 10. Maria Sakkari – 2,537 points
• —-
• 22. Liudmila Samsonova – 1,806 points