Laura Samson (formerly known as Laura Samsonová; born 10 March 2008) is a Czech professional

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player. She won the girls' doubles title at the

2023 Wimbledon Championships The 2023 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), major tennis tournament that took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Tournament The tournament was played on grass courts, wi ...

and was a runner-up in girls' singles at the 2024 French Open.

Personal info

In 2024, she changed her surname to the gender neutral form to be distinguished from another WTA Tour tennis player, Russian

Liudmila Samsonova Liudmila Dmitrievna Samsonova ( rus, Людмила Дмитриевна Самсонова, , lʲʊdˈmʲiɫə sɐmˈsonəvə; born 11 November 1998) is a Russian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 12 in singles ...

, with whom she shared the same abbreviated name (L. Samsonova).

Career

Juniors

A member of TK Sparta Prague, Samson won her first junior title as a 13-year-old at a J5 event in

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

in an October 2021, without dropping a set. It was her first junior-level event. She then won her second J5 event in November 2021 in Silla-Saledar in Spain, and reached the final in her third, in Montemar. In July 2023, she won the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

girls' doubles title with compatriot Alena Kovačková. In the final, they faced Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy of Great Britain, winning in straight sets. They were the first Czech pairing to win the title since

Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles by the Wome ...

and

Kateřina Siniaková Kateřina Siniaková (; born 10 May 1996) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is the current List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She also has a best singles WTA rankings, ranking of No. 27 by the W ...

in 2013. In June 2024, she reached the final of the

French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...

girls' singles tournament but lost to compatriot

Tereza Valentová Tereza Valentová (born 20 February 2007) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 182 in singles and No. 241 in doubles. She has a career-high combined junior ranking of No. 4, achieved on 10 June 2024, ...

. Defending the Wimbledon girls' doubles title alongside Kovačková in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, they lost in the quarterfinals to Mika Stojsavljevic and Mingge Xu. In October 2024, she reached the final of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals, where she lost in two close sets 4–6, 4–6 to world number one

Emerson Jones Emerson Jones (born 7 July 2008) is an Australian tennis player. She has a career high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 1, achieved on 9 September 2024, becoming the first Australian junior to reach the top spot since Jelena Dokic in 1998. Ea ...

. She later said it was her last junior tournament with focus on Pro Tour since 2025.

2024: WTA Tour debut and first win

Given a wildcard entry into the

2024 Prague Open The 2024 Prague Open (branded as the Livesport Prague Open for sponsorship reasons) was a professional women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the TK Sparta Prague. It was the 15th edition of the tournament, a WTA 250 tournam ...

, Samson became the first player born in 2008 or later to win a WTA Tour main-draw match when she defeated qualifier

Tara Würth Tara Würth (born 30 September 2002) is a Croatian tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (d ...

in straight sets in the first round. In the second round she upset second seed

in three sets to make it through to the quarterfinals, where she defeated

Oksana Selekhmeteva Oksana Olegovna Selekhmeteva (; ; born 13 January 2003) is a Russian tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of No. 138, achieved on 8 August 2022, and a best doubles ranking of No. 150, reached on 11 July 2022. Selekhm ...

. Her run came to an end in the semifinals when she retired injured while trailing in the third set against

Magdalena Fręch Magdalena Fręch (; born 15 December 1997) is a Polish professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 22, achieved on 28 October 2024. On 8 August 2022, she peaked at No. 174 in the doubles WTA rankings, rankings. ...

. After reaching final at ITF Junior Finals, Samson received her second WTA main draw wildcard at

2024 Mérida Open The 2024 Mérida Open Akron was a WTA 250 tournament played on outdoor hardcourts as part of the 2024 WTA Tour. This was the second edition of the Mérida Open, which took place at the Yucatán Country Club in Mérida, Mexico, from 28 October to ...

, but she was unable to pass the first round, where she lost in two close sets to

Antonia Ružić Antonia Ružić (born 20 January 2003) is a Croatian tennis player. Ružić has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 98 by the WTA, achieved on 9 June 2025. She also has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of No. 544, reached on 27 January 2 ...

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)

Doubles: 1 (runner–up)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Doubles: 1 (title)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samson, Laura 2008 births Living people Tennis players from Prague Czech female tennis players Wimbledon junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' doubles