Samsonova Faces Guo in Ningbo Open 2025 First Round

Ningbo, China — Eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova is set to begin her Ningbo Open 2025 tournament against qualifier Hanyu Guo in a first-round clash on Tuesday. The match will determine who moves on to face McCartney Kessler, who recently defeated Sofia Kenin in straight sets.

Samsonova has demonstrated impressive consistency this season, highlighted by her run to the final in Strasbourg, where she fell to Elena Rybakina after a three-set battle. She also reached the semifinals in both Adelaide and Berlin and made quarterfinal appearances at Indian Wells, Wimbledon, and the recent Tennis in the Land event.

In her 52 matches this season, Samsonova has recorded 204 aces and won 69.5% of her first-serve points, converting 44.4% of break points. On the other hand, Guo, primarily recognized as a doubles specialist, has yet to claim a WTA singles title. Nevertheless, she boasts five doubles titles and has this season secured victories in doubles in Adelaide and Bad Homburg alongside partner Alexandra Panova.

Guo’s singles performances remain modest, often exiting in the first round or qualifiers, though she managed to reach the second round in Montreal before falling to Iga Swiatek. Thus far this season, Guo has tallied seven aces and achieved a 55% success rate on first-serve points while converting 52.9% of her break points.

Samsonova and Guo have yet to face each other in a professional match. With Samsonova’s powerful groundstrokes and proven consistency, she enters the match as the heavy favorite. However, Guo’s agility and net skills from her doubles experience might pose some challenges. Betting odds indicate that Samsonova is expected to win comfortably.