Former NC State tennis star Diana Schnaider’s Wimbledon run ends in third round

Diana Shnaider has been on a breakout tour this summer on the pro tennis circuit and her latest showing came at Wimbledon.

The former NC State star fell to former Virginia standout No. 19 Emma Navarro in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 4-6.

Wimbledon’s third round Friday morning. The third round appearance marked Shnaider’s deepest run in a Grand Slam event.

Shnaider made quick work of Navarro in the first set, winning it in just over 30 minutes, but the former Cavalier returned the same favor in the second set. But when it seemed like Navarro had all of the momentum in the match, Schnaider appeared to take control early in the third set.

The Moscow, Russia, native played from behind until she took a 3-2 lead in the third set. But once she pulled in front, Schnaider seemed to have discomfort on her dominant left arm. She attempted to push through the pain to battle back, but the potential injury appeared to be too much to overcome.

Navarro closed the set with back-to-back wins in the final two games, including blanking Schnaider in the final game.

Although Shnaider missed Wimbledon’s second week by one match, she impressed on her path to the third round.

Shnaider downed former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, in the opening round before she beat American Sloane Stephens in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The win over the former rising U.S. player punched Shnaider’s ticket to the third round against Navarro.

Shnaider’s showing at Wimbledon is just the latest chapter to her successful summer circuit. She beat Venus Williams in the Miami Open in March before taking a WTA 125 championship in Paris over Navarro in May.

And just before Wimbledon began, Shnaider beat Donna Vekic in three sets to win the Bad Homburg Open, her first WTA 500 title. In that tournament, Shnaider downed Navarro in three sets in the semifinals to earn the bid to the tournament final.