Winner to face Sabalenka or Vondrousova in the final.
Two of the giant slayers of the tournament will collide on Saturday, when Liudmila Samsonova takes on Wang Xinyu in the 2025 Berlin Tennis Open semifinals. Samsonova currently has the edge in this rivalry. With both players displaying their best tennis of the season, this mouth-watering encounter will entertain fans at the German capital to the fullest.
Liudmila produced one of the most astounding performances of 2025 on Friday, thrashing World No. 13 Amanda Anisimova 6-1 6-1. She also defeated four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, as well as US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula en route to this stage. The Russian has a 6-3 record on grass over the past year, including a 43% break point conversion rate. She has won 76% games on serve – justifying her Top-20 ranking.
While her opponent is searching for her first title of 2025, Chinese sensation Wang Xinyu is looking for her maiden career singles trophy. The 23-year-old has four doubles successes, but has been dealt with more losses than wins in singles this year. She reached the semifinal stage in Singapore – which means a win on Saturday would confirm a first singles final of her campaign. Her incredible run through qualifiers includes wins over Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina, Paula Badosa and Roland Garros champ Coco Gauff.
Liudmila Samsonova has a 2-0 head to head record against Wang Xinyu. She is yet to drop a set against her lower ranked opponent.
Saturday’s semifinal will be the first encounter between the two young guns on grass. So far, both their match-ups have been on hard courts – at Cincinnati and Tokyo respectively. Although they have been closely contested matches, the Russian managed to paint the lines when it mattered most.
| Event | Round | Winner | Score |
| 2024 Cincinnati | Round of 64 | Liudmila Samsonova | 6-4 6-4 |
| 2022 Tokyo | Round of 16 | Liudmila Samsonova | 7-6(5) 6-3 |
| Liudmila Samsonova | Category | Wang Xinyu |
| 0 | Grand Slams | 0 |
| 5 | WTA Singles Titles | 0 |
| 2 | WTA Doubles Titles | 4 |
| 0 | WTA-1000 Titles | 0 |
| – | Olympics Best Performance | R2 (Paris 2024) |
| No. 20 | Current World Ranking | No. 49 |
Samsonova is perhaps more comfortable on grass, when it comes to singles. Moreover, fatigue could play a role on Saturday – Xinyu has faced multiple quick turnarounds which might catch up with her. Although she is yet to drop a set in the main draw, playing six matches over a week is no small feat. Provided Samsonova can repeat her 73% first serve percentage from the Anisimova encounter, victory is imminent.
Prediction: Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets.
READ MORE: “Hardest Job Out There”: Alex de Minaur Divulges Wedding Date and Planning With Katie Boulter
According to initial odds, Samsonova is the slight favourite over minnow Wang Xinyu. She has a 63% implied chance of winning on the money line. Here are the odds for the match (as per BetMGM):
(According to BetMGM: BetMGM offers exclusive promo codes, bonus deals and accurate odds for users upon signing up. Use BetMGM to ace your betting game in all sports!)
