How Shnaiders, shaped by college tennis, rose to WTA stardom

When Diana Shnaider landed in Raleigh, North Carolina to start her freshman year as part of the North Carolina State Wolfpack, she was stunned by what she saw. It was September 2022 and Shnaider had committed to play for NC State a month earlier.

It wasn't an easy decision. In her mind, choosing college meant saying goodbye to a professional tennis career, because outside the robust and sophisticated American collegiate sports system, that's exactly what it meant around the world.

“Gosh, honestly, if you're not American, if you're from Europe, with the mentality that goes into college sports, you're done with a pro career,” Shnaider said on the WTA Insider Podcast. 'My father, and I actually, had the same opinion.

“I really wanted to go pro, but it was just a really tough situation. I didn't have a coach and you have a foundation, so I just need a backup plan to get myself where I'm going to be Anyway, my mom wanted me to go to college. She wanted me to go to college and all that.”

To hear the full interview with Shnaider, listen to the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast below:

Instead of a backup plan, Shnaider got all the support she needed to pave the way to the Hologic WTA Tour. She credits her coaches, who weren't focused on building a successful college athlete, but a professional one.

“When I got there and played my first college game, I was very surprised how high the level is there and how everyone practices and how much they put into the work,” Shnaider said. “It's very difficult to combine studying and practice. So it's very unusual, I would say. But I feel like it helped me a lot, to kind of get the timing under control and some things on the to simplify playing, some tactics.”

Shnaider left NC State after her freshman year to turn pro and she has been a threat ever since. She finished last season at number 60 in the PIF WTA rankings. This year she won her first three WTA titles, all on different surfaces, and Olympic silver in doubles with Mirra Andreeva. At the age of twenty, she made it into the Top 20, where she is now number 16 and rising.

When Shnaider hears the stats and milestones surrounding her breakout 2024 season, her eyes widen and she breaks into an irrepressible smile. Her non-stop schedule has been a blessing as she hasn't had the luxury of dwelling on her successes, which recently included her first Grand Slam round of 16 at the US Open and her first WTA 1000 semifinal in Toronto .

But when she thinks about what surprised her most this year, she marvels at her success on hard courts. She won her first career title in February at Hua Hin.

“I would say growing up and playing in the juniors, I preferred playing on clay,” she said. “And my first 125 Challenger win was on clay. On clay you can slide and there is a little more time than on the hard courts. But at the same time, my playing style also suits hard courts.”

What about that title on the lawn in Bad Homburg? Yeah, she doesn't know exactly how she did that either. It was a series with victories over Angelique Kerber, Dayana Yastremska, Paula Badosa, Emma Navarro and Donna Vekic in the final.

“I feel like it's easier for most players to play with players who are at the top,” Shnaider said, “by questioning them a little bit and showing them that you can play at that level too. a great tournament.

“I wasn't sure if I would be good on grass, but I feel like everyone was surprised. Even my previous coach wrote to me: who taught you to play like that on grass?”

In a season full of surprises, Shnaider seemed poised to do more damage in the final five weeks of the season.

“It's definitely a lot of tournaments, but I enjoy it and it's tough, but at the same time I love tennis,” Shnaider said. “I love playing tennis. So I think having a place where you like to play, traveling around the world is a good job. So it's great.

“We're working and living our dreams. Not everyone can do it. So I feel like we're very lucky to be in this position.”