WTA Dubai 2023: Badosa vs Samsonova Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 WTA Dubai Tennis Championships as Paula Badosa takes on Liudmila Samsonova in the first round on Sunday, February 19, 2023.

The match that didn’t happen a week ago will happen this time at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships when unseeded Paula Badosa plays Abu Dhabi finalist Liudmila Samsonova. Who will prevail?

It’s been a tough start to the year for Paula Badosa. The former World No. 2 has been beset by injuries since the turn of the year and now finds herself down to 20th in the WTA rankings. She started the year with four straight wins before a thigh injury kept her out of last month’s Australian Open. Badosa’s return hasn’t been fruitful having gone down in straight sets to Beatriz Haddad Maia in Doha. Prior to that, she withdrew from her scheduled first-round match against Liudmila Samsonova in Abu Dhabi. But the draw has assembled both of them together at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships.

Liudmila Samsonova, for her part, is 6-5 for the season, but she did come close to winning a WTA title in Abu Dhabi a week ago. Samsonova wasted multiple match points in the final against Belinda Bencic, before the Swiss snatched the title right from the Russian’s grasp. Samsonova was left to rue those missed chances as she lost her first career final on the WTA tour. She failed to bounce back in Doha, losing quite heavily to Sofia Kenin. Can she do so on her return to the UAE at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships?

Liudmila Samsonova leads Paula Badosa 2-0 in their head-to-head, winning both of their meetings contested on hard courts. Samsonova will be the favorite again, having enjoyed a more productive start to the season that nearly yielded a fifth WTA title in three years in Abu Dhabi. For Paula Badosa, the turbulent start might just extend a little longer as she works herself to full fitness. Samsonova is primed to return to winning ways at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships.