MUBADALA DC OPEN

July 30, 2026

Diana Shnaider

Quick Quotes

D. SHNAIDER/A. Potapova

6-1, 6-2

Q. Well done today. I guess this is your Washington debut, if I'm not mistaken.

DIANA SHNAIDER: Yeah.

Q. What made you decide that you wanted to play Washington this year?

DIANA SHNAIDER: Well, honestly, I heard so many good reviews from other players about this tournament, and then also Sascha told me that the tournament is so great and the city is nice.

I think the gap this year was a little bit, like, too big between Wimbledon the hard-court swing. I honestly prefer, like, playing tournament. I feel like if I'm, like, practicing more than two weeks, I'm getting a little bit overwhelmed with practices, and I'm missing the matches, the tournaments, like traveling, this adrenaline, you know, from the matches.

For me, it's actually better to be in this, like, kind of flow of the tournaments.

Q. So I guess talking about kind of you being ready to play and things like that, I guess you've had the singles bye, and I know you weren't originally supposed to play doubles, I don't think, and then you did. Were you kind of anxious, I really want to play singles, since you kind of had to wait until well into the tournament?

DIANA SHNAIDER: Honestly, yeah. I was, like, Oh, my God. I was talking yesterday to my mom. I was like, I'm so ready, like, I'm so ready to go on court. Because obviously, yes, I got a bye, and I wasn't sure if I would have a bye, not have a bye, because you never know who will have a wild card or not. So I was, like, okay. Then I saw a bye.

Then I was originally supposed to play Wednesday, and then it was pushed to Thursday. I was, like, Oh, my God, another day (laughing).

It's actually helped that I was playing doubles because it's still, like, you kind of get all those emotions. It was nice to get those two matches before singles matches.

I think it really helped me to be ready in that tournament mode and kind of let a little bit nerves out, because I think the first match when we play with Venus, I was very tight and super nervous, firstly because I played with Venus and then, second, just because it's the first tournament after two weeks off. So I was definitely kind of getting a little bit back.

So, yeah, I feel like it's definitely helped before today's match.

Q. I know you said on court you were in a good way surprised by how high the level was. What aspects of it maybe were you most pleased or you kind of were like, wow? I mean, it was pretty flawless.

DIANA SHNAIDER: Yeah, I feel like just overall definitely the way I handled my emotions today. I was just, like, super calm. Just, you know, in one mood from the first point to the last point.

I feel like that was a big key to just kind of think clearly what I have to do on the court because sometime, for sure, if too many emotions gets involved, I got to, like -- I'm starting to rush the point, or I'm making a wrong choice, wrong decision.

So I think today just because I was so calm and, like, the head was so cold, like, if I got to defend, I was defending. If I see the high ball, I was stepping in. So there was no, like, rushing decisions.

That's why there was no, like, too many unforced mistakes. I mean, if you doesn't have too many unforced mistakes and you are playing, like, very clear tennis and you still can make winners, I mean, that's the best way to win a match and to feel about yourself and your game.

Q. With it being your first time here, obviously it's your first time on all these courts. Playing on John Harris, it's very compact. You can hear pretty much everything. Does the outside noise kind of get in your head because --

DIANA SHNAIDER: It was all of it (indiscernible), I can't lie, but actually just because I was so focused today on the match. Yeah, it can annoy you, but I was just trying to get those thoughts away as quick as I can.

I was, like, I can't do anything about it. I understand everything, and I just got to adjust to this condition and then to play with it.