Sixteen-year-old Laura Samson, a Czech wild card, made history by reaching the semifinals of the Livesport Prague Open. She secured a hard-fought 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory against Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva in a thrilling match that lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes. This achievement is even more remarkable considering it is Samson’s first WTA tournament, having previously been the junior No. 1. Up next, she will face No. 6 seed Magdalena Frech from Poland in the semifinals.
In another exciting quarterfinal match, Frech staged a comeback to defeat No. 3 seed Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine with a score of 2-6, 6-0, 6-1. The other semifinal at the clay-court event will feature top-seeded Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic against No. 4 seed Magda Linette from Poland. Noskova dominated her match against Germany’s Ella Seidel with a score of 6-1, 6-3, while Linette outlasted No. 5 seed Viktoriya Tomova from Bulgaria with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, at the UniCredit Iasi Open in Romania, top-seeded Mirra Andreeva from Russia advanced to the semifinals with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 victory over Croatia’s Lea Boskovic. The 17-year-old Andreeva did not face a break point throughout the match and capitalized on five of her six break chances. She is set to face Olga Danilovic from Serbia in the next round, following Danilovic’s upset win over No. 8 seed Anna Bondar from Hungary.
In a remarkable comeback, unseeded Chloe Paquet secured her spot in the WTA 25 clay-court semifinals with an impressive 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 win against her French compatriot Selena Janicijevic. Paquet now awaits the winner of the match between No. 3 seed Jaqueline Cristian from Romania and No. 5 seed Elina Avanesyan from Russia.
The stage is set for some thrilling semifinal matches at both the Livesport Prague Open and the UniCredit Iasi Open, with talented young players showcasing their skills and determination on the court. Fans can look forward to some exciting tennis action as these rising stars compete for a spot in the finals of their respective tournaments.