Defeated in all three final-set battles! The Milk Tea Girl is trapped in a deciding set curse, still winless in the 2026 season.

Mentioning Russian player Samsonova, many fans know her well. In 2021, she started from the qualifiers at the WTA500 Berlin event and won seven consecutive matches to claim her first career tour title, becoming the first qualifier to win a tournament that season; in September 2022, Samsonova defeated Zheng Qinwen, who had reached her first tour final, to win her fourth career title at the WTA500 Tokyo tournament.

Because her Chinese pronunciation sounds similar to "Assam Milk Tea," fans gave her the nickname "Milk Tea Girl." However, in 2026, this player who has performed well in Grand Slams and WTA1000 events has been struck by a mysterious curse. So, what exactly is this curse? Let this article take you through it today.

In mid-January 2026, just after the WTA500 Brisbane event,Samsonova, who reached her first tour quarterfinal of the season, competed at the WTA500 Adelaide Open as the seventh seed. In the first round, she faced Czech player Vondrousova, a Grand Slam champion.

In this match, although Samsonova lost the first set badly, she bounced back to take the second set 6-4, pushing the match to a deciding set. However, in the final set, she was defeated 2-6. At that time, perhaps even Samsonova did not expect this would only be the beginning of her final-set losses in the 2026 season.

In mid-January, Samsonova entered the 2026 Australian Open as a seeded player. In the first round, she played against German veteran Siegemund. She dominated the first set, winning 6-0 with a series of points, taking an early lead; in the second set, she continued her strong form, breaking her opponent’s serve multiple times and earning match points.

However, an incredible turn of events occurred as Siegemund fought back, gradually leveling the score and then overtaking Samsonova to take the second set 7-5, bringing the match back to even. In the deciding set, the curse struck again—Samsonova lost all her early momentum and was reversed 4-6, resulting in a disappointing exit.

After suffering three consecutive defeats, Samsonova entered last week’s WTA500 Abu Dhabi Open as the fifth seed. She defeated Grand Slam champion Kenin and tour titleholder Zeng Limi, ending her losing streak and advancing to the quarterfinals for the second time this season. However, in a tough three-set battle, she lost to wildcard American player Batiste in the quarterfinals.

This week, Samsonova traveled to Qatar for the first WTA1000 event of 2026—the Doha Open. In the first round, she faced lucky loser Polish player Frech. During the match, she missed three match points in the deciding set and ultimately lost in the tiebreak. Thus, in the 2026 season, she has yet to taste victory in a final set. That’s the tennis story for today; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)