Russia, Olympic medallist, Bandana: Everything you always wanted to know about Diana Shnaider (but never had time to find out) – updated with Safina hire as coach
An Olympic medallist and winner of four WTA titles, here is all you need to know about Russian Diana Shnaider
Diana Shnaider, Paris Olympics 2024
Image Credit: DPPI / Panoramic
Who is Diana Shnaider?
Diana Shnaider is a left-handed professional tennis player from Russia, who has won four WTA titles and is among the few women who wear a bandana while playing her matches.
How many WTA titles has Diana Shnaider won?
Four and all of them came during the 2024 season. The Russian picked up her first title in Hua Hin on hardcourts, beating second seed Zhu Lin in the final. She then lifted the trophy in Bad Homburg on garss with a win over Donna Vekic in the final. Her third title came in Budapest on clay with a win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final.
She ended the 2024 season by winning the Hong Kong Open with a straight sets win over Katie Boulter.
Who is Diana Shnaider’s coach?
The Russian is being coached by countrywoman and former world No 1 Dinara Safina. The pair started working together in April 2025.
“The past few months, I have been searching for a partnership like this that I am confident will be great for me both on and off the court,” Shnaider wrote, thanking her father and family for the support in the interim while she “[took] time to find this new partnership.”
Safina retired from the sport in 2014. She reached the final of Roland-Garros in 2008 and 2009, and the 2009 Australian Open final. She was world No 1 for 26 weeks and her accomplishments also include winning the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics and winning 12 career WTA singles titles.
Shnaider was earlier coached by Igor Andreev, the former ATP pro who peaked at No 18 in the world rankings. Andreev reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2007 and won three ATP singles titles in his career. Between the two, she was coached by her dad.
What did Shnaider accomplish at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Shanider and compatriot Mirra Andreeva teamed up to win the silver medal in the women’s doubles event at the Paris Olympics. The duo went down to Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in the final.
Which country is Shnaider from?
Shnaider is from Russia and was born in Zhigulevsk.
How old is Diana Shnaider?
Shnaider was born on April 2, 2004. That makes her 21 years old as of April 2025.
Which college did Shnaider go to?
Shnaider came to the United States in 2022 and enrolled at North Carolina State University, where she played college tennis for the NC State Wolfpack.
What is Diana Shnaider’s best performance at a Grand Slam?
Shnaider made the fourth round of the 2024 US Open, her best performance to date at a Grand Slam event. Seeded 18th, she defeated Nadia Podoroska, Clara Tauson and Sara Errani before going down to eventual runner-up Jessica Pegula in the last 16.
She has been to the third round at all the other three Majors – at Wimbledon in 2024, at the Australian Open in 2025 and at Roland-Garros in 2023.
What is Shnaider’s highest ranking?
The Russian reached a career-high ranking of No 12 in November 2024. You can find her updated ranking and ranking history on her WTA profile page.
How tall is Diana Shnaider?
The WTA site lists her height as 5ft 6in, or 1.70m.
Was Diana Shnaider a good junior?
The Russian peaked at No 2 in the ITF junior world rankings. She won three junior Grand Slam doubles titles – Wimbledon in 2021 (with Kristina Dmitruk), the Australian Open in 2022 (with Clervie Ngounoue) and the US Open in 2022 (with Lucie Havlickova).
In junior singles, she went as far as the semi-finals at the French Open (2021) and the US Open (2022).
How much prize money has she won in her career?
As of November 2, 2024, Shnaider has won $1.98 mllion in career prize money. You can find her latest prize money stats on her WTA Tour profile page.
Is Diana Shnaider on social media?
Yes. Shnaider has over 22,800 followers on Instagram as on April 26, 2025.
