Diane Parry

Diane Parry is one of the last true one-handed backhands in the women's game — a right-hander born September 1, 2002 in Nice who turned pro out of the junior ranks rather than the qualifying grind. She was the junior world No. 1 in 2019 and was designated ITF Junior World Champion for that year. In 2019, at 16 years and 281 days old, she became the youngest player in nearly 10 years to win a main-draw match at Roland-Garros — fitting for a player who grew up in the stadium's shadow.

The game is built on variety, not pace. The one-hander is the showpiece, but the spine of her tennis is slice, change of direction, and depth that drags opponents off rhythm — what she herself frames as "bothering" the bigger hitters. She has adapted that slice-heavy game to grass effectively, and the same disruption travels onto clay, where the home crowd amplifies it.

The signature win came young. As a teenager she dethroned defending champion and No. 2 seed Barbora Krejcikova on Court Philippe-Chatrier despite losing eight of the match's first nine games — her first win over a top-10 player, and her first over anyone ranked in the top 50. She built steadily from there: a top-50 debut and career-high No. 48 in October 2024, plus a WTA 1000 round-of-16 run at Indian Wells alongside semifinals at Osaka, Palermo and Nottingham. A maiden WTA singles title still eludes her.

The current beat is her deepest French Open run yet. She beat Anhelina Kalinina, Ann Li and sixth seed Amanda Anisimova to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time, before falling to qualifier and eventual runner-up Maja Chwalinska. Ranked 55, she's again the one-hander Paris loves to watch.