How college tennis shaped Shnaider’s rise 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 of 2022, and Shnaider had committed to play for NC State just a month earlier.

It wasn’t an easy decision. In her mind, opting for college meant saying goodbye to a professional tennis career because outside of the robust and sophisticated American collegiate sports system, that’s precisely what it meant everywhere else in the world.

“Gosh, honestly, if you’re not American, if you’re from Europe, the mentality there is if you’re going to college sports, you’re done with a pro career,” Shnaider said on the WTA Insider Podcast. “My dad, and me actually, had the same opinion.

“I really wanted to go pro, but it was just very hard situation. I didn’t have a coach and you have a base, so I just need some a backup plan to kind of get myself to where I’m going to be secure anyway. My mom wanted me to go to college. She was wanting me to go to study and everything.”

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

Instead of a backup plan, Shnaider received all the support she needed to pave a pathway to the Hologic WTA Tour. She credits her coaches, who were not focused on building a successful college athlete, but a professional one.

“When I arrived there and played my first college match, I was very surprised what’s the level there and how everyone’s practicing and how much they’re putting into the work,” Shnaider said. “It’s very hard, mixing up the studying and practicing. So it’s it’s very unusual, I would say. But I feel like it’s helped me very much, to kind of manage all of the timing and simplify some things on the court. Where to play, some tactics.”

Shnaider left NC State after her freshman year to go pro and she’s been a menace ever since. She finished last season at No.60 on 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 just 20, she has surged into the Top 20, where she now sits at No.16 and rising.

When Shnaider hears the stats and milestones surrounding her breakout 2024 season, her eyes grow wide and she breaks out into an irrepressible smile. Her non-stop schedule has been a blessing insofar 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 has surprised her most this year, she marvels at her success on hard courts. Her first career title came in February at Hua Hin.

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

What about that grass-court title at Bad Homburg? Yeah, she’s not really sure how she did that either. It was a run that included wins over Angelique Kerber, Dayana Yastremska, Paula Badosa, Emma Navarro and Donna Vekic in the final.

“I feel like for most players it’s easier to play with players who are on the top,” Shnaider said, “to kind of question them and show them that you can play on that level too. It was a great tournament.

“I wasn’t sure that I’m going to be good on grass, but I feel like everyone was surprised. Even my previous coach was writing me, like who taught you to play on grass like that?”

In a season of surprises, Shnaider sounded poised to do more damage through the last five weeks of the season.

“It’s a lot of tournaments for sure but I’m enjoying and it’s tough, but at the same time I love tennis,” Shnaider said. “I love playing tennis. So I feel like it’s a good job to have where you enjoy playing, traveling around the world. So it’s great.

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