Dinara Safina is officially back on the WTA Tour as a coach after world No. 13 Diana Shnaider announced the former three-time Grand Slam runner-up as the newest addition to her team.
Safina, who reached multiple Slam finals and achieved the world No. 1 ranking at a young age, played her last pro match in 2011 before officially confirming her retirement in 2014 due to a serious back issue. And for the past 14 years, the 38-year-old hasn’t been seen much around the tennis circles.
But now, the 2008 and 2009 French Open finalist is returning to women’s tennis and she will work with one of the most promising young players. Shnaider, who turned 21 just last week, won four WTA titles last year and she is currently ranked at No. 13 in the world.
Shnaider announces ‘legend’ Safina as her coach: I’ve been looking for a coach like this
“Hello everyone! I am excited to announce that Dinara Safina is joining my team as my new coach. 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. Dinara is obviously a legend, and I am thrilled to see what we can do together… Dinara and I will see you all on the red clay!” Shnaider wrote on Instagram.
Pogledajte ovu objavu na Instagramu.
A bit interestingly, both Safina and her brother Marat Safin returned to tennis as coaches basically at the same time. Last week, Andrey Rublev announced that Safin accepted to work with him.
When it comes to Safina and Shnaider, they will start their partnership next week at the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart. Shnaider obviously has aspirations to become a Grand Slam champion and reach the top spot and it will be interesting to see if the latest move can get her there.
Tennis World USA