Rough diamond Shnaider finds her sparkle in breakthrough season

BENGALURU : Diana Shnaider's four WTA titles in a breakthrough season took her to the brink of the top 10 in the world and suggested the Russian might soon become known for a lot more than her trademark polka dot bandanas.

The versatile 20-year-old made bold statements with her fashion and all-court game in 2024, winning titles on the hard courts of Hua Hin and Hong Kong as well as the grass of Bad Homburg and on clay in Budapest.

Ranked well outside the top 100 in 2022 and 60th at the end of 2023, Shnaider is now 13th in the world, with her four titles tying Aryna Sabalenka's season haul even if two of the Belarusian's were majors. Only Iga Swiatek won more.

"It's nice to be in that company," Shnaider said. "I'll definitely push harder to be on the same stage as them, to win more tournaments and at even higher categories. That's the future. This year, I did an amazing job.

"Next year, everyone will be getting ready, knowing my game, 'Oh she's tough,' stuff like that. But it's important for me to play against the best in the world.

"Even if there are a lot of losses, I'll be as positive as possible, just keep building my game, my mentality, my physical strength. There are a lot of things I can improve and achieve to be a top 10 player. It's not a rush, I'll have to be patient."

Born in Zhigulevsk to a lawyer father who had a stint in boxing, and a mother who taught English, Shnaider tried her hand at dancing, figure skating, chess and boxing before finding her true calling in tennis aged eight when she moved to Moscow.

'BACKUP PLAN'

In an unusual step for a Russian, she had a season-long spell playing U.S. college tennis with North Carolina State University before going professional in mid-2023.

"Honestly, if you're not American,