WTA French Open – Leyre Romero Gormaz vs Liudmila Samsonova

WTA French Open – Leyre Romero Gormaz vs Liudmila Samsonova

🧠 Form & Context

Liudmila Samsonova
🔥 Resurgent Form: After a tough clay start (1–3), she surged to the Strasbourg final, taking out big names like Badosa and Collins before falling to Rybakina.
🏆 Seeking Clay Breakthrough: Though known more for fast courts, she’s inching closer to her first clay title.
🧱 RG Pedigree: Made it to the 3rd round in 2024, her best performance in Paris. Now eyeing a deeper run.
🎾 Confidence Rising: Opened this campaign by dismissing Mayar Sherif, a seasoned clay-courter.

Leyre Romero Gormaz
✨ Fairytale Run: Entered Paris on a five-match losing streak, yet rattled off four consecutive straight-set wins including qualifying.
🎓 Slam Debut: Earned her first Grand Slam main draw win against wildcard Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
🎾 Surface Savvy: A clay-court regular with 125K final experience, but zero career wins over top-50 players.
🌱 Firsts Abound: This is her first Slam, first top-20 opponent, and by far the biggest stage of her young career.

🔍 Match Breakdown

This is a classic David vs. Goliath scenario, only with clay as the leveling factor. Romero Gormaz is full of momentum and local support, but this will be her first true test against a player of Samsonova’s caliber. The Spaniard’s lefty baseline play and comfort on clay will give her something to lean on, but she’s up against a powerful and increasingly confident top-20 opponent who’s found a groove.

Samsonova’s first-serve dominance and flat, aggressive baseline strikes can penetrate the slow court—especially if she continues her form from Strasbourg. Barring early nerves or lapses, she should dominate the rallies and dictate terms.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Samsonova in 2 sets – Routine progression for the 18th seed.