Several big names have made coaching moves on the WTA Tour recently, in a bid to achieve Grand Slam success.
2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu recently hired Francisco Roig as her full-time coach.
The Spaniard has previously coached Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini and will bring a wealth of experience to the 22-year-old’s team.
Another player who made a switch was Naomi Osaka, who replaced Patrick Mouratoglou with Tomasz Wiktorowski.
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The move paid off straight away, as Osaka qualified for the semifinals of the Canadian Open, where she will play Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
Just days before the Cincinnati Open begins, a third player has been seen with a new coach.
Sascha Bajin seen training Diana Shnaider in Cincinnati
In news originally reported by Dinara Safina and Anna Chakvetadze on Telegram, Diana Shnaider has been seen training with Sascha Bajin in Cincinnati.
Shnaider has struggled to find the right coach in 2025, despite her best efforts.
Earlier this year, Shnaider brought in Safina as her coach, although their partnership was short-lived, as the pair split after just one month together.
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Ahead of the grass-court season, Shnaider hired Carlos Martinez, an experienced WTA coach, who guided her to the quarterfinals of the Queen’s Club Championships.
Following their split, Shnaider is now said to be working with German coach Bajin, who has won two Grand Slam titles during his career.
Bajin, best known as Serena Williams’ former hitting partner, began his coaching career alongside Osaka in 2017.
The pair won two majors together before splitting in 2019, just weeks after Osaka’s Australian Open triumph.
Osaka and Bajin exchanged pleasantries on social media following their split, as their Grand-Slam winning partnership came to an end.
Hey everyone, I will no longer be working together with Sascha. I thank him for his work and wish him all the best in the future.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 11, 2019
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“Hey everyone, I will no longer be working with Sascha [Bajin],” she said.
“I thank him for his work and wish him all the best in the future.”
“Thank you Naomi [Osaka]. I wish you nothing but the best as well. What a ride that was. Thank you for letting me be part of this,” replied Bajin.
There were, however, rumors of discontent between the pair, as Osaka revealed that she didn’t talk to Bajin before the Australian Open final, during her post-match press conference.
Moving on with his career, Bajin worked with several other WTA stars, but couldn’t replicate the success he achieved with Osaka.
YearsPlayerNationality2017-2019Naomi OsakaJapanese2019Kristina MladenovicFrench2019-2020Dayana YastremskaUkrainian2020-2022, 2023Karolina PliskovaCzech2024Alycia ParksAmerican2024-2025Donna VekicCroatian2025…Diana ShnaiderRussianSascha Bajin’s coaching career
Only time will tell how Bajin will get on with Shnaider, but the pair will certainly hope to make a positive start together in Cincinnati.
Who will Diana Shnaider play in her first match with Sascha Bajin as coach?
Entering the tournament as the number 14 seed, Shnaider will receive a bye into round two, where she could face one of the hottest prospects on the WTA Tour.
Canadian Open semifinalist Victoria Mboko will play a qualifier in round one, and will face off against Shnaider should she advance.
Mboko has been the talk of the tennis world this week, advancing to her first career WTA 1000 semifinal, picking up a marquee win over Coco Gauff along the way.
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There are, however, questions over whether Mboko will play the Cincinnati Open, as she said she was ‘not sure’ she would compete, following her quarterfinal win in Montreal.
Shnaider would no doubt welcome the challenge of playing Mboko should she make the trip to Cincinnati, but will be looking to make a deep run regardless of who stands across the net from her in round two.
Diana Shnaider’s projected route to the title (By ranking)2R v Victoria Mboko3R v [22] Magdalena Frech4R v [3] Iga SwiatekQF v [5] Amanda AnisimovaSF v [1] Aryna SabalenkaF v [2] Coco Gauff
A potential fourth-round tie with Iga Swiatek would certainly be one to look out for, after the pair entertained fans with a thriller in Madrid earlier this year.
Coming up just short, Shnaider lost to Swiatek 0-6, 7-6, 4-6, in the fourth round of the Madrid Open.
Only time will tell if they will meet for a second time in Cincinnati, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action when the tournament begins on Thursday, August 7.