Former 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova has tipped 18-year-old Russian Diana Shnaider to have a bright future. Shnaider, who will be turning 19 in April, is a top-100 player but she is not a full-time WTA player as she is playing college tennis at North Carolina State.
At the start of the 2023 season, Shnaider made the Australian Open second round as a qualifier. In the Australian Open second round, Shnaider nearly upset Maria Sakkari as the seventh-ranked Greek had to come from a set down to beat the Russian 3-6 7-5 6-3.
“This woman is motivated, remember her name,” Navratilova tweeted.
via @NYTimes–
This woman is motivated:), remember her name! https://t.co/N66woUlRzD — Martina Navratilova (@Martina) February 27, 2023
Shnaider: I like to go for my shots
Shnaider, ranked at No 94 in the world, is left-handed and she is not shying away from being aggressive on the court.
As a young girl, Shnaider figured out that she didn’t want to be a player who would go out and just push the ball around the court. “I never wanted to be a pusher. I was always like: ‘OK, here’s the shot.
I’m killing it,'” Shnaider told The New York Times. At this year’s Australian Open, Shnaider won a total of four matches – the Russian won three qualifying matches before…
