19-year-old Shnaider wins maiden WTA title at Thailand Open, beating Lin Zhu in final

Diana Shnaider has won her first WTA title, defeating Lin Zhu 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 at the True Arena Hua Hin to lift the Thailand Open at just 19 years of age.

In only her second tour-level final, the Russian showed few signs of nerves as she imposed her powerful baseline game on the match from the start.

Having secured the first set, however, Zhu’s greater ranking and experience came to the fore as the Chinese player swept the second in confident fashion.

But Shnaider was able to halt the momentum of her opponent very impressively. Refusing to be drawn into a close deciding set, she instead accelerated to the finish line, taking the third 6-1 to emphatically seal her maiden WTA title.

It is a title well deserved, as Shnaider had to navigate a tough route to get to the final. The young Russian took out players well above her ranking in nearly every round, with the biggest scalps being top seed Magda Linette and Spaniard Paula Badosa.

Ranked at 108th in the world, Shnaider is set to return to the top 100 following her impressive showing in Hua Hin as yet another shining young talent from Russia showcases great promise.

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