The Czech hopefuls beat British duo Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy 6:4 and 7:5 in the final match in front of a large audience. It wasn’t easy, the Brits overcame the 1:5 loss in the second set. But the Czechs prevailed and deservedly won in the end.

“Now the closest goal is to win a Grand Slam in singles. Of course, the junior for now, but later also the great,” says Laura’s father, David Samson, with determination for Seznam Zprávy . “However, in my opinion, the most realistic is a semi-final. He will definitely go to the US Open. In the fall, he will gradually start playing ITF adult tournaments and try to earn points,” he described the immediate strategy.

Jan Stočes, sports director of the tennis association, agrees that Laura is an extraordinary talent in Czech tennis. “Certainly Laura for me, but there are also other people behind her. Last year, our girls in her category won the CE and CM of the teams. There are three excellent ones, but Laura and her Alenka Kovačková are still a little further. The huge hopes of Czech tennis. After the Fruhvirt sisters, Nosková and others comes a new generation of girls who have the chance to play tennis at the highest level. This is a very good news,” says Stočes for Seznam Zprávy.

Laura started playing tennis in Oáza Říčany near Prague, where she lived with her parents and brother 50 meters from the courts. At first she went to tennis just to watch. Then she tried it on the wall and was immediately hooked. “I think it was April 2012, she was four years old and something like that. We had no ambition for her to become a professional athlete. There was no such plan,” said David Samson.

At that time, Laura was modeled on her older brother, now eighteen, Oliver, who also started playing tennis. But then he switched to hockey and is not doing badly at all. At the age of 14 he had the chance to go to Sweden and has already stayed there. So far he has played for three clubs in the Swedish Premier League U16 and U18. According to his father, it benefited him enormously, he had to take care of himself, learn to be independent. And they say he is far from having said the last word in hockey.

Little Laura immediately hooked on tennis, it was clearly a talent. She soon moved from Oáza to Sokol Říčana, where she began training with Eva Kovačková, the mother of her current Wimbledon partner Alena.

Her athletic genes certainly helped her. Father David Samson practiced all kinds of sports since his childhood. From skiing to football and especially to tennis. He also started playing floorball in college. Mom did athletics.

Laura spent her childhood on the courts and spent a lot of time with Alena Kovačková. In her mother’s service, she received professional-level training.

“She started playing baby tennis, they noticed her in Sparta and gave her a contract. Coach Petr Otradovský started taking care of her there. But because we lived in Říčany near the courts, she did not go to Sparta every day,” explains Father Samson.

At the same time, Laura normally attended Magic Hill Primary School in Říčany. It was only two years ago in the summer that her father left for France with her. She won the Open Stade Français, the tournament for the highest category of young talents, the final of which is played at Roland Garros.

“That’s when her career changed and became more professional. She was noticed by a global Nike agent. Not because of the victory, but already during the tournament, because he liked his We got the contract and then Laura won another tournament in France so she got two numbers in a row Both were U14 tournaments but she was only 13 so she actually won a year earlier,” her father describes the change in Laura’s career.

She then headed to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. In the meantime, she won the Monte-Carlo Masters, a sort of Tournament of Champions, which she savored thoroughly. And in the fall, she got her first free card from the association in Prostějov for the first U18 junior tournament. She won it right away.

“She’s climbed up the rankings so much that she’s already started playing higher category tournaments to collect more points. Now, if she wants to be good, and she wants to be, she has to constantly improve her game. I think “She literally grew up on the loss, it toughened her up and pushed her. For me, it’s important that at this age she can lose and get something out of those losses and move on.”

According to David Samson, there is no rush. Tennis itself is only a small part of the preparation at this stage. He still needs to improve his bodywork. It’s about fitness, regeneration. “Sparta and Olympus offer excellent conditions. She goes regularly for massages, physio…”

In the Czech Republic, Laura is now supported as a personal trainer by Lukáš Jedlička, in Sparta by head coach Daniel Filjo. But since the beginning of the year, he has also had a foreign coach, who himself has offered to help. They consult him a lot from a distance, he is more of an adviser, a mentor.

According to Samson, sleep and diet are equally important. “When a tennis player travels, it is difficult with food, but he must look for a diet rich in protein. Especially when the tennis player is waiting, and she is always waiting for something, so she must eat more quickly sugars, pasta, chicken. My wife and I keep an eye on it, and she also supplements her diet with protein shakes.”

What else does Laura need to improve? It should mainly strengthen the legs and the middle of the body. So she can play adult tennis, which is different from junior tennis after all.

How is she? According to father David Samson, she is intelligent, has a varied game, a good swing. Going forward, his strengths should be serving and forehand. Before, the girls used to hit her with the backhand, but she also moved. He also plays short games on the net. They always admired her for chasing points and not standing on the baseline. She likes a varied game.

“Laura is very communicative, ambitious, goes her own way, doesn’t mess with anything. When she likes something, she does it well. But it’s not just tennis. She speaks good English, school moved her a lot. He has been giving interviews in English since he was 13,” says the father.

By the way, about this school, she studied the eighth and ninth grades remotely, which means that she always came to the exams once every six months. And she made the last ones at the end of June. Of course, he will continue his studies at the Spektrum secondary school in Mladá Boleslav, focusing on the business academy. And it will be remote again.

His daily life is relentless. He gets up in the morning, takes a cold shower, plays sports, then eats breakfast, goes to training or a game, in the evening to the gym, stretches…

She says she likes football lately, even though she’s not very good at it. She was in the drama club at school. By all accounts, she would like to play.

“We’re enjoying it. It’s a beautiful world. A lot of people think that someone is always directing you, but what I like is the freedom to choose the tournament ourselves. Nobody tells us where to go , we have to organize everything ourselves. Accommodation, food, flights…”, explains David Samson. At the same time, he emphasizes that he is happy with the help of the tennis association. Let him organize representative trips, where the players have support, because he knows how much money it costs the parents. That he organizes tournaments at home and gives them wild cards, that is to say free cards.

And how much has Laura already earned? It is said that this is a frequent question today. “But the juniors don’t earn a penny. Junior tennis is an amateur sport”, emphasizes David Samson.