Dubai Duty Free Tennis: Golden girl Kudermetova wins back-to-back doubles titles in Dubai

Twelve months after winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships doubles title and being surprised by the UAE Government with a Golden Visa, Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova returned with a new partner, Liudmila Samsonova, to win it for a second time.

Having closed out 2022 with a No 2 ranking in women’s doubles, the 25-year-old Moscow native found a willing ally in Samsonova, one year her junior, to deny the Taiwanese pairing of Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 10-1.

Then in a show of sportsmanship Kudermetova led the praise for her opponents, who fought back after losing the first set, to courageously draw level.

“I think the best part about them was that they were there every point, every moment,” she said. “We were feeling this. They're really good.

“But I think we believe more in ourselves and we played more aggressively than our opponents. I think today we also served better than our opponents.”

Asked to describe the emotions that they were feeling, Samsonova said: “For me it's the first time, so what I can say? It's crazy maybe (smiling). I just started to play with Veronika this year. We had some amazing results during the Fed Cup. But it's amazing what we did today. So proud of us.”

Doubles is always fun to watch and perhaps even fun to play but Kudermetova did not totally agree.

“Yes we had fun, but we were nervous as well,” said Kudermetova who was a losing doubles finalist at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.

• Former Dubai ball kid back for a slice of tennis glory