Emma Navarro and Diana Shniader stunned audiences with their incredible performance, defeating the top-seeded team of Belgium's Elise Mertens and Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei in the second round of the 2024 French Open. They will face Monica Niculescu and Cristina Bucsa in the third round on Tuesday, June 4.
Emma Navarro had a solid singles run at the Paris Major, defeating Zeynep Sonmez, S. Errani and fellow American Madison Keys to reach the fourth round. However, her hopes of securing her first singles Major were dashed by World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her 6-2, 6-3. Meanwhile, Diana Shnaider exited in the first round, losing to Chloe Paquet 6-3, 6-1.
Now, both players are trying their luck in the doubles competition. In what was a dream win for the duo on Monday (June 3), they dominated their opponents winning the first set 6-2 and never letting them find their rhythm.
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In the second set, Su-wei and Mertens put up more of a fight, but it wasn't enough to prevent an eventual defeat on the Parisian clay. The former college stars triumphed 6-4 to secure their spot in the third round of the clay court Slam.
Despite Mertens and Su-wei hitting more winners, their unforced errors outnumbered those of Navarro and Shnaider. Additionally, the college stars consistently led in winning serve-and-return points, driving their impressive performances.
The team of Navarro and Shnaider had also had a decent campaign at the 2024 Australian Open in January but were eliminated in the fourth round by Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund.
Emma Navarro & Diana Shnaider had an exceptional collegiate career
Emma Navarro had an impressive college tennis career winning 51 out of 55 singles matches for University of Virginia. The 23-year-old American was the top-ranked Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) singles player in both 2021 and 2022. She also clinched the 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship, adding a significant achievement to her stellar college career. Navarro won her first WTA tour title at the 2024 Hobart International.
Diana Shnaider made history as the first woman in the WTA top 100 to play college tennis while pursuing a professional career. Representing North Carolina State, the Moscow native had an impressive 2023 season, finishing with a 20-3 record and earning ACC Freshman of the Year and ACC First Team All-Singles honors. She was also ranked #4 in all of women's college tennis.
In 2024, Shnaider clinched her first career WTA title in Hua Hin, Thailand. North Carolina State's women's tennis head coach, Simon Earnshaw, praised her achievements on X, noting that Shnaider was likely the first player since Beth Herr in 1983 to win both the NCAA team and singles events and secure a first-round victory at the French Open.
