The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1497827
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER iana Shnaider has already made a big impression on the women's tennis world. If you need proof, con- sider that Martina Navra- tilova, one of the all-time icons in the sport and an 18-time Grand Slam tournament winner, tweeted about Shnaider: "remember her name." That came in February, not long af- ter Shnaider put the sport on notice by advancing out of qualifying to the main draw of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. She then de- feated Kristina Kučová in the opening round and took No. 6 seed Maria Sakkari to a decisive third set before bowing out. Sakkari, a two-time Grand Slam semifi- nalist, is nine years older than Shnaider, who recently turned 19. Less than three weeks after her cap- tivating Australian Open run, Shnaider was on the court for her next match, which was also her NC State women's tennis debut, a straight-set win over Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma. She's taken a route few have embarked upon in their pursuit of professional greatness: playing college tennis. But Shnaider, a native of Russia, had her rea- sons, including a very basic one. Last summer, Shnaider was discuss- ing her options with NC State head coach Simon Earnshaw and assistant David Secker. "I explained my situation," Shnaider recalled, "that I'm not sure if I should go or just continue to play pro tourna- ments, because I was thinking that col- lege tennis is not good for me, and I'm going to be quitting my professional ca- reer, which I didn't want to do. "Basically, the [problem] was that I didn't have a coach back in Russia." Her father, Maksim, didn't believe that trying college tennis was a good idea. Her mother, Julia, was in favor of the move. "It was a really hard decision for me because I was doing it by myself," she recalled. The decision was a bold one, too. Shnaider had enjoyed success at the Junior Grand Slam level. In 2021, she reached the final of the French Open in singles. Shortly after, she won the Wim- bledon doubles title. Shnaider began 2022 by reaching the quarters in singles and winning dou- bles at the junior level in the Australian Open. Even after making the decision to come to NC State, she reached the semi- finals in singles at the US Open Juniors and won the doubles title. In a profile of Shnaider that appeared in The New York Times in February, for- mer Vanderbilt women's tennis coach Geoff Macdonald said, "She's the best player to play college tennis in a while, for sure." Even while at NC State, Shnaider has bounced back and forth between play- ing for the Wolfpack and professional events. In April, she competed in the Charleston Open, one of the premier Women's Tennis Association tourna- ments, upsetting former tournament champ and No. 5 seed Veronika Kuder- metova in straight sets before losing in the round of 16 to former world No. 2 Paula Badosa. Juggling all that with classes, Shnaider D PATH WORTH TAKING Potential Future Tennis Star Diana Shnaider Chose College While Chasing Grand Slam Success