2007 to 2017, Puerto Rican princess Adriana Diaz “Growin’ Up” to a wise athlete in Sweden

By Neha Aggarwal

You might find Adriana Diaz humming to “Ooh, ooh, growin’ up”. Her favorite singer is Bruce Springsteen, and those are the lyrics from one of his famous songs Growin’ Up. Currently on duty in Orebro at the ITTF World Junior Circuit Swedish Junior and Cadet Open, Diaz has certainly come a long way; she was present in 2007 for the same tournament as a seven year old.

And ten years later, Diaz, now 16 years of age, is one of the strongest contenders in the junior girls’ singles to clinch the title.

Certainly, she has been growin’ up in more than many ways.

“One of my favorite singer is Bruce Springsteen. I’ve seen him perform 25 times, last year five times, twice in Sweden, once in Copenhagen and twice in USA,” she says.

Bruce Springsteen is nicknamed “The Boss” and so has Diaz grow up like “A boss”.

In September 2011, she was ranked 1126 in women singles, and in the last few years, her graph has only shot up. One of the most successful athletes from Puerto Rico, Adriana Diaz is currently ranked 84 in the women’s singles February 2017 ranking. The 16 year old is ranked 24th in Under-21 and no.9 in her favorite Under-18 girls singles.

Diaz is coached by her father and her three other sisters are also table tennis players. She was present at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games keeping the Puerto Rican flag high. Winner of the 2016 US Open, Diaz is a star in many ways. She is a young and energetic, and carries a whole lot of talent in her system.

In 2013, at only 13 years of age, she was able to play an around the net shot. Check it out:

Well, in Orebro, the second seeded Diaz has already reached the semi finals of the junior girls’ singles, and will be competing against third seed Azerbaijan’s Ning Jing.

She is young, talented and hard working, her delightful smile and charming personality makes her a complete sporting star. She had a successful 2016: winner of ITTF World Junior Circuit titles in Slovak Republic and Poland, girl’s singles title at Pan American Junior Championships, Under-21 title at the ITTF-Latin American Championships and the women’s singles title at the US Open Championship.

In 2016, Diaz was voted as Latin America female player of the year, and the 16 year old also gave a TEDx talk in Puerto Rico where she spoke about the importance of family.

Want to get to know more about Adriana? Check out this amazing episode of Ask A Pro Anything with Adam Bobrow!

Diaz is certainly Growin’ up like “A boss”.