One of Russia’s top female tennis players heads into the US Open with a new face in her camp after failing to reach a common ground with her former coach.
World No.17 Diana Shnaider had been working with Spain’s Carlos Martinez since the start of the grass swing. Martinez is a highly experienced coach who has also worked with Simona Halep, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Daria Kasatkina, Clara Tauson, Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez. The duo got off to a strong start at the HSBC Championships in London, where Shnaider reached the quarter-finals in singles before losing to Madison Keys, as well as the doubles final.
However, during the rest of the grass season, Shnaider only managed to win two out of five matches played, losing in the second round at Wimbledon. Then at the National Bank Open in Canada, she lost her opening match to Marie Bouzkova. It was shortly after this that Martinez departed via mutual consent.
“It’s a bit confusing because I started working with Diana in Queens. I was all grass court season with her,” Martinez told Ubitennis.
“Then I went to Montreal with her. When we finished the tournament, we decided to stop because for me, some things were not the way that I expected.
“Maybe for her it was the same, I don’t know. But we decided in a good way to finish.”
Martinez is now back in Barcelona, which is where his academy, CMC Competition, is located.
Meanwhile, Shnaider’s next coaching experience will be with Sasha Bajin. It has not been publicly confirmed if the two are currently conducting a trial or if some agreement has already been made. Bajin, who is the former hitting partner of Serena Williams, is best known for his work with Naomi Osaka between 2017 and 2019. He has also mentored Karolina Pliskova and Donna Vekic.
“I know that now she’s trying with Sasha,” Martinez confirmed.
“We decided to go our separate ways. I think that is much better.” He added.
Shnaider is currently one of three players ranked in the top 20 in both singles and doubles on the women’s Tour. Last year, she won three WTA 250 titles in singles and another at a 500 event. Meanwhile, so far this season, she has won two doubles titles alongside Mirra Adreeva in Birabane and Miami.
Shnaider will return to action at the Cincinnati Open, which will be the last big tournament to take place before the US Open.
