# Laura Samson

Laura Samson (formerly known as Laura Samsonová; born 10 March 2008) is a Czech professional tennis player.
She won the girls' doubles title at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships 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, 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 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 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 and Kateřina Siniaková in 2013.
In June 2024, she reached the final of the French Open girls' singles tournament but lost to compatriot Tereza Valentová. Defending the Wimbledon girls' doubles title alongside Kovačková in 2024, 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. 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, Samson became the first player born in 2008 or later to win a WTA Tour main-draw match when she defeated qualifier Tara Würth in straight sets in the first round. In the second round she upset second seed Kateřina Siniaková in three sets to make it through to the quarterfinals, where she defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva. Her run came to an end in the semifinals when she retired injured while trailing in the third set against Magdalena Fręch.
After reaching final at ITF Junior Finals, Samson received her second WTA main draw wildcard at 2024 Mérida Open, but she was unable to pass the first round, where she lost in two close sets to Antonia Ružić.

## ITF Circuit finals
### Singles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

* Legend
* W15 tournaments (3–1)
* Finals by surface
* Hard (1–1)
* Clay (2–0)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2024 | ITF Monastir, Tunisia | W15 | Hard | Selina Dal | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Feb 2024 | ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt | W15 | Hard | Sandra Samir | 0–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | May 2024 | ITF Kranjska Gora, Slovenia | W15 | Clay | Oana Gavrilă | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–1 | May 2024 | ITF Bol, Croatia | W15 | Clay | Sara Svetac | 6–1, 6–2 |

### Doubles: 1 (runner–up)

* Legend
* W40/50 tournaments (0–1)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Nov 2024 | ITF Chihuahua City, Mexico | W50 | Hard | Ana Sofía Sánchez | Haley Giavara Dalayna Hewitt | 1–6, 3–6 |

## Junior Grand Slam tournament finals
### Singles: 1 (runner-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 2024 | French Open | Clay | Tereza Valentová | 3–6, 6–7$^{(0)}$ |

### Doubles: 1 (title)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 2023 | Wimbledon | Grass | Alena Kovačková | Isabelle Lacy Hannah Klugman | 6–4, 7–5 |