North Carolina State University tennis coach Simon Earnshaw’s plans for the weekend changed a bit Wednesday morning as Diana Schneider dominated over No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka to advance to the French Open semifinals.
“You shouldn’t just show up to the final,” Earnshaw, who was rushing to prepare for an overnight trip to Paris to watch Schneider face qualifier Maja Chwalinska on Thursday, told Yahoo Sports. “The people at my school suggested that I should make my presence felt (in the semi-finals as well).”
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While college tennis has made significant inroads into the ATP Tour in recent years, with players making a seamless transition from the NCAA to the pros, led by Ben Shelton and recent Roland Garros quarterfinalist Rafael Jodard, women’s tennis is in a different league.
While notable former college athletes like Emma Navarro, Danielle Collins, and Jennifer Brady have advanced deep into the Grand Slams in recent years, there has always been a perception that women develop and reach their peak faster. The only path for most top juniors is to go straight to the WTA Tour. University is generally not considered as an option.
That makes Schneider’s case interesting. Especially now that college tennis is in the news as a dominant sport for schools whose athletic budgets are strained by revenue sharing and NIL payments.
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Schneider, a 22-year-old from Russia who entered the French Open ranked 23rd, is one of the top juniors in the world and even won a round in the main draw of the Australian Open in 2023 before playing for the Wolfpack. But to the surprise of those who thought Schneider would easily turn pro once she cracked the top 100 in the WTA rankings, she returned to Raleigh, helped North Carolina State reach the NCAA finals, and then played the full tour.
“I think people are still pretty confused about why Diana Schneider went to college in the first place,” Earnshaw said. “Unlike a lot of new hires who are asking for things like how much money will you give me, how many events will you take me to, what will I get in addition to my attendance fees and Alston’s money, Diana was always different.
“At a young age, she had a clear idea that she could be a very good player, but there were certain things that she needed to improve in order to get above the top 200, and at the age of 17 she knew exactly what those were. The reality was that she experienced them and we worked with her to plan how to work on them and she understood that we had the know-how and experience to provide her with that.”
To add a little bit, Earnshaw claims that NC State’s hiring of Schneider was completely coincidental. His assistant coach, David Secker, previously worked at the Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine, Calif., where he developed a relationship with a Russian family living in the United States with ties to his mother, Yulia.
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At the time, Schneider was nearing the end of his junior career in 2022, and there was a lot of uncertainty just because he was Russian. The country’s invasion of Ukraine has begun. Travel will be difficult and financial support from the National Tennis Federation will not be available.
“They were just looking for some level of stability and something that could provide her with a foundation,” Earnshaw said. “We were actually going to have a 12-24 month plan to improve her game. She was very clear that she felt like if she got better, she could be in the top 100, if not top 50. So we worked together with (Secker) and her mother and (mutual) We ended up having a conversation on Zoom with Diana and her mother. At that point, she was probably ranked around No. 800 in the WTA. I didn’t really get it, but they came back and stuck with it. ”
Diana Schneider celebrates after defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals of the French Open in Paris on June 3, 2026. (Photo by Antonio Borga/Eurasia Sports Images/Getty Images)
The conversation continued to the point where Secker flew to Roland Garros in 2022 to meet up with Schneider, who was competing in a junior tournament. Shortly thereafter, she committed to North Carolina State University and enrolled for the fall semester in August, but was unable to play because, Earnshaw explained, the NCAA did not clear up confusion over new rules regarding agent representation that came with the implementation of the NIL.
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“They just kept saying no because they didn’t know,” Earnshaw said. “Looking back, it was a bit ridiculous at the time. But all that time she was taking classes, training with us, and popping back home to play professional events. That got her high enough to qualify for the Australian Open.”
Schneider qualified for the main draw, winning her first round match and pushing sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari to a third set in a match that was broadcast on ESPN in prime-time television in the United States. At that point, NC State president Randy Woodson became involved in the eligibility fight at the NCAA level and helped clear the way for her to play in the spring semester.
“That game was very helpful for us,” Earnshaw said.
Schneider didn’t stay in Raleigh long, but he did well enough to earn All-American honors in singles and doubles, going 20-3 in singles and helping NC State win the ACC tournament. More importantly, she developed a skill set that ticked off the boxes she discussed with Earnshaw, including improving her second serve, advancing toward the net, building backhand volleys that didn’t exist before, and learning how to play doubles.
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“Obviously doubles is very important in college and we’ve been doing well, so it was an easy sell for us. But she said, ‘I know you need to play doubles early in your career to get into competition with the top players and get more experience. So I have two chances and maybe I can play deeper in the WTA while I’m younger,'” Earnshaw said. “If you ask her, she will tell you that the fact that we were able to provide her with support in all those areas was a big plus for her and for us.
“She chose a different path for an Eastern European, and it’s hard to say it didn’t work out for her.”
At this point, Schneider has a real chance to win the French Open. Although she hasn’t done as well in Grand Slams, she does have five WTA titles on her resume, which will give her an edge against Czwarinska on Friday. If she takes home the trophy, she will become the first former college tennis player to win a singles Grand Slam on the women’s side since former Stanford All-American Barbara Jordan won the Australian Open in 1979.
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At a time when college tennis appears to be under siege, St. Louis and Arkansas recently announced they would discontinue their programs before the Razorbacks reversed course under pressure from donors – a powerful statement about the impact college tennis can have on the world stage.
“Right now, I think for some reason these kids are taking longer and longer to develop,” Earnshaw said. “I don’t think it’s their fault, but there’s been a gap between the junior tennis world and what you’re seeing in professional tennis and college tennis. That gap has gotten even bigger, so now we’re better able to fit into that gap.”
