Diana Yanotovskaya joined the Cardinal Tennis coaching staff as a Graduate Assistant in August 2026. She joined SVSU after competing at the NCAA Division I level for four seasons.
"I'm thrilled to bring Diana on board here at SVSU. Her wealth of tennis knowledge will be a tremendous asset as we start training and competing,” said coach Ackerman. “I am confident that her on-court experience at California State University, Fullerton and Gonzaga University will serve her well as a coach. She's bright, organized, disciplined, and brings valuable experience to our program. Saginaw Valley State University is fortunate to have her, and I'm excited to see the impact she'll have on our team."
Yanotovskaya competed at Gonzaga last season, playing at Nos. 1 and 2 singles and Nos. 2 and 3 doubles for the Zags. She appeared in 12 singles matches, including five at No. 1, as well as 21 doubles matches.
She spent the first three seasons of collegiate tennis with Cal State Fullerton where she competed in over 50 matches during her career as a Titan. She went 4-4 in singles and 9-2 in doubles her freshman year before suffering an injury that kept her away from the spring season as a sophomore. During that season she worked with the Cal State Fullerton coaching staff as an assistant where she developed her skills as a coach. She returned to the court her junior season to play in 15 singles matches and 16 doubles competitions.
Yanotovskaya returned to Russia during the summer months of her playing career to further develop her resume as a private tennis coach.
Prior to her collegiate career, Yanotovskaya was a member of the Russian National Team from 2014-17, and ranked among the top 50 in the Tennis Europe rankings from 2016-2018, and achieved a UTR of 9.8.
