Latest news with #TatjanaMaria
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Maria climbs 43 places in WTA rankings
PARIS: Tatjana Maria jumped 43 places to 43rd in the WTA rankings published on Monday, the day after completing her fairytale run to the title at Queen's. The 37-year-old mother of two, who had to come through two rounds of qualifying before reaching the main draw at Queen's, became the oldest winner of a WTA 500 event when she beat American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 in Sunday's final. Maria, who was the first female Queen's champion since Olga Morozova 52 years ago, climbed one place short of her career high-ranking of 42, which she attained last year. The top three remained unchanged with Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Zheng Qinwen climbed one place to fourth, her highest ranking after reaching the semi-finals at Queen's. Jasmine Paolini dropped one place to fifth while Iga Swiatek who has yet to set foot on grass after an unsuccessful season on clay, slipped one place to eighth. WTA rankings: 1. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 11,553 pts, 2. Coco Gauff (USA) 8.083, 3. Jessica Pegula (USA) 6,483, 4. Zheng Qinwen (CHN) 4,853 (+1), 5. Jasmine Paolini (ITA) 4,805 (-1), 6. Madison Keys (USA) 4,669 (+2), 7. Mirra Andreeva (RUS) 4,636 (-1), 8. Iga Swiatek (POL) 4,618 (-1), 9. Emma Navarro (USA) 3,697 (+1), 10. Paula Badosa (ESP) 3,684 (-1), 11. Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 3,456, 12. Diana Shnaider (RUS) 3,216, 13. Amanda Anisimova (USA) 3,119 (+2), 14. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 3,035 (-1), 15. Karolina Muchova (CZE) 2,929 (-1), 16. Daria Kasatkina (AUS) 2,801, 17. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 2,725, 18. Ekaterina Alexandrova 2,378 (+1), 19. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) 2,200 (+1), 20. Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) 2,141 (-2). Selected: 43. Tatjana Maria (GER) 1,259. — AFP
Independent Singapore
4 days ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
37-year-old Tatjana Maria won the Queen's Club Championship, says she "can still win trophies" at her age
Tatjana Maria became the first woman in 52 years to win the Queen's Club Championship title, after defeating 8th seed and World No. 15 Amanda Anisimova with a final scoreline of 6-3, 6-4. This victory marks the biggest career title for the 37-year-old athlete. Maria, who is also a qualifier for the competition, became the oldest WTA 500 champion by winning against four top-20 players in a row. With this, Maria expressed: ' It means a lot to me, because actually, I'm 37 years old and I won this trophy today… In the past, people were always saying: 'Oh, now maybe it's time. You are too old. You are …' Whatever reason they say sometimes. But actually, I'm a good example that even at my age you still can win big trophies.' Coached by her husband, Charles-Édouard Maria, the athlete admitted: 'I'm super proud of myself that I could win this tournament, because actually, I always believed in it, and my husband too. That's also why we kept going, because there was always this belief that I can win big tournaments and that I can do great things on the court. I'm really, really proud of this.' See also Casper Ruud exits Mexican Open due to stomach bug After her victory, Maria quickly ran to her player box to hug her husband and their two daughters: Charlotte (11), who also wants to be a tennis player, and Cecilia (4). Maria also remarked that one of her dreams is to play doubles professionally with her daughter, Charlotte. 'She will turn 12 at the end of the year, and you can start to play on tour when you're 14… So I have a few more years to go, but it would really be my goal to do this, because I would love to play with her on the tour for doubles. She's been on tour since she's three months old, actually. It's her dream. And if my body holds, if I really enjoy playing tennis, I would love to keep going and to play doubles with her.' Maria's tennis performance Maria is known to be skilled on the grass surface, despite her recent struggles and her current ranking of No. 86. In 2022, she reached the Wimbledon semi-finals. She is a player who does not rely on powerful shots, but rather uses clever and tricky shots to slow down her opponent and disrupt their rhythm on court. Maria uses slice shots on both her forehand and backhand, making it difficult for her opponents to hit. Moreover, she is also skilled at playing near the net with soft, precise touches. In the final match against Amanda Anisimova, Maria made her look uneasy from the start. Known for powerful shots, Anisimova then committed many mistakes and couldn't find her rhythm. Maria's slicing kept Anisimova off balance, and it truly pushed her into tough positions. Maria also served well and defended strongly throughout the match. With Maria's playing style, Anisimova remarked: ' Just not something you're used to… I mean, most of my matches, I'm not getting a slice after every single ball. It's definitely different, but everyone has their own way of playing. It's just something you need to adjust and adapt to.' In a social media post, Maria shared: 'What can I say…… I am the Queen of Queen's! ❤️' Netizens expressed their support in the comments and stated: 'Sooo happy for you 🥲 BRAVOO🥳🏆👊', 'So so good! Happy for you ❤️❤️❤️', and 'SUPER happy for you, Charles and your entire team that supported you until the last minute!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS Tatjana🎾🎾🎾🥇🥇🏆🏆🏆🏆!!!'
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Mother or tennis player? Tatjana Maria proves you can be both
After completing her fairy-tale triumph at Queen's Club, Tatjana Maria jogged over to her entourage. Forget masseuses, sports psychologists and commercial agents – her court-side clan consisted of a supportive husband and coach, her smiling eldest daughter and her sleepy four-year-old in a buggy. Here was a picture-perfect example of a mother who, for more than a decade of her sporting career, had made tennis a family affair. Maria had been slogging away on tour, determined to prove that motherhood and sport are increasingly interchangeable, rather than incompatible. Her stunning victory on West Kensington's grass courts was the ultimate proof that mothers in sport – whatever their age – can still crack it. Intriguingly, many media outlets were conservative when describing Maria's achievement, drenching it with sporting lexicon. The BBC preferred to describe Maria as a qualifier, before mentioning the fact she is a mother of two – perhaps because her set of circumstances were curiously unique and contained all the ingredients for a classic underdog story. This was a woman supposedly past her peak, who had entered the tournament on a nine-match losing streak (prior to Queen's, Maria had succumbed to the world No 229 in the first round of the Birmingham Open). Others were more forthright in highlighting Maria's win through the lens of motherhood, given she has very much made tennis a family affair. The German's identity as a tennis player and a mother is intertwined to the point she has aspirations to play doubles with her 11-year-old daughter, Charlotte, who began travelling with her to tournaments when she was just three months old. 'It's her dream,' Maria explained. 'And if my body holds, if I really enjoy playing tennis, I would love to keep going and to play the doubles with her.' 52 years in the making ✨🏆 @Maria_Tatjana | #HSBCChampionships — HSBC Championships (@QueensTennis) June 15, 2025 Super-mums, such as Maria, 37, in sport are role models. While it is true that sporting fathers are not revered in the same way, why should we shy away from celebrating them? Fatherhood may be emotionally and mentally draining but men's bodies, physically at least, stay the same. In sport, male athletes are almost always spoken about in terms of having renewed purpose and greater perspective with fatherhood. Sir Andy Murray often spoke about how being a parent was a life-affirming experience, providing him with more motivation and better management of the pressures of professional tennis. He probably was not worrying about whether his pelvic floor was strong enough not to leak urine when tossing up the ball when serving. And therein lies the mesmeric quality to Maria's win – and the myriad women like Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Dame Laura Kenny, who have all returned to the top of their game after childbirth. Serena Williams, who returned to the tour after the birth of her first daughter but fell short of her long-time goal of winning a 24th grand slam, was famously persecuted when she wore a catsuit at the 2018 French Open to help with blood clots that arose from her complicated labour in which she almost died. 'For all the mums out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy – here you go. If I can do it, so can you,' she said at the time, explaining the suit was as much a fashion statement as it was functional. It was later controversially banned by organisers. I recently met with a top sports gynaecologist who works with a group of British Olympic and Paralympic mothers. She highlighted how a woman's body can undergo irreversible changes during pregnancy, including how a woman's rib cage can expand by up to 7.5 centimetres during pregnancy to accommodate extra room for a growing bump. 'It may never return to its original position,' she said. 'Mad, isn't it?' 'Mum butt' is also one to watch out for – a colloquial term to describe the muscle mass expecting women lose in their glutes because they overcompensate with their quadricep muscles, which can lead to a host of postural, muscle-weakening and fat redistribution changes. Closer to home, my own rugby-playing sister took the best part of four months to do a press-up because of the profound abdominal separation that had split her middle in two. She could not contain her elation last week when the Rugby Football Union published its groundbreaking postpartum guidance for women – the latest reminder of how the shift towards mothers even in sports perceived as traditionally male is changing. Seven out of the nine Team GB mothers who competed at the Paris Olympics won medals – but even with the advances of sports science and societal shifts, sporting mums remain so tantalisingly rare. In tennis, player creches have become a welcome addition at each of the grand slams, but you suspect they serve more of a purpose for men's players and their travelling families – just six of the top 100 women's players in the world are mothers – Naomi Osaka, Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Victoria Azarenka and American Taylor Townsend have all returned after having children. Nobody is trying to denigrate Maria's career by overtly referencing the fact she is a mother. Rather, her victory is an empowering reminder that motherhood and elite sport can go hand in hand.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Qualifier becomes the first female winner at Queen's in 52 years
Tatjana Maria won the Queen's Club Championships, marking the biggest title of her career and capping off a successful opening week for the rejuvenated women's tournament. The return of women's Tennis to Queen's after 52 years was initially met with resistance, but the tournament's debut featured trailblazers like 37-year-old Maria and 23-year-old Amanda Anisimova in the final. Maria, ranked No. 86, defeated Anisimova 6-3, 6-4, showcasing her unconventional game and ability to disrupt her opponent's rhythm. Players and fans have responded positively to the new tournament, with high attendance and praise for the competitive field and the focus on women's Tennis. Despite some logistical challenges, such as limited seating for doubles matches, the women's event at Queen's has been a resounding success.
Daily Tribune
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Qualifier Maria completes fairytale run to Queen's title
Tatjana Maria completed her fairytale run at Queen's Club as the German qualifier beat American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 in yesterday's final to become the oldest winner of a WTA 500 event. The 37-year-old's victory secured the fourth singles title of her career, and her first since 2023 on the clay in Bogota. World number 86 Maria is the first German to win a WTA 500 title since Angelique Kerber in 2018 in Sydney. In the first women's tournament at Queen's since 1973, Maria is the event's first female champion since Russia's Olga Morozova 52 years ago. When Morozova won in west London, the prize money was just £1,000 ($1,353). Maria banked a cheque for £120,000 and more importantly earned a huge confidence boost ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on June 30. The mother of two arrived at Queen's on a nine-match losing streak and had to survive two rounds of qualifying matches to reach the main draw. Deploying her slice-heavy style to devastating effect, she stunned sixth seed Karolina Muchova, fourth seed Elena Rybakina and reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys en route to the final.
