Iga Swiatek has shared her thoughts on Liudmila Samsonova’s peculiar tactic ahead of their quarterfinal clash at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. The World No. 4 was completely taken aback by Samsonova’s choice to be left in the dark before their encounter.
Swiatek has matched her best-ever result at Wimbledon by advancing to the quarterfinals for the second time in her career. The Pole continued her stellar run at SW19 by claiming a dominant 6-4, 6-1 win over Clara Tauson in the fourth round. Samsonova set up an exciting meeting with the eighth seed by beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5.
At her post-match press conference, Liudmila Samson made an unusual request to the reporters as she asked them not to reveal the name of her quarterfinal opponent. The Russian explained that the tactic allowed her to avoid overthinking, revealing that she would only find out who she was facing the night before the match.
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"It's helping me mentally. Don't think about [the match] too early because I'm starting to burn my mind, overthink," Samsonova said. "Always. It's already a few years. Tomorrow, at the end of the day."
Iga Swiatek was baffled by Samsonova's decision to remain unaware of her opponent. She humorously expressed her intention to tell Samsonova herself, which would effectively ruin the Russian's strategy.
"But she doesn't know she's playing me? I get it but we don't have so many matches anymore to not know, I would say. We don't have so many options in quarterfinals. Well, at some point she must know right because she has to prepare right. I'll tell her," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference.
Iga Swiatek will head into the quarterfinal clash with a massive advantage, having won all four of her previous matches against Liudmila Samsonova. Their most recent encounter took place at the 2024 US Open, where the Pole claimed a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Iga Swiatek on her preparations for Wimbledon QF: "Liudmila Samsonova’s pretty experienced so it’s going to be a challenge"
In the same press conference, Iga Swiatek acknowledged that she would face a tough challenge against Liudmila Samsonova in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. However, the 24-year-old disclosed that she didn't intend to make any special preparations for the contest.
"She can play great. We have played some tight matches. She’s a player that likes fast surfaces. She’s pretty experienced too so it’s going to be a challenge. I’ll just prepare the same way as before any other match and I’ll be ready," Swiatek said.
If Swiatek triumphs over Samsonova, she will face the winner of the match between Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic. The Pole may prefer to take on Bencic in the semifinals, since she enjoys a 3-1 lead in their head-to-head record. In contrast, the five-time Grand Slam champion has lost two of her three encounters against Andreeva.
The formidable opponent Iga Swiatek could face in the Wimbledon final will be one of Aryna Sabalenka, Laura Siegemund, Amanda Anisimova, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
