Tatjana Maria becomes oldest WTA 500 winner with Queen's triumph
London
German tennis veteran Tatjana Maria capped a sensational run with the biggest title of her career at Queen's Club in London on Sunday.
The 37-year-old defeated American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the grass tournament and Wimbledon warm-up, securing the fourth title of her long career.
She is the oldest player ever to win a WTA 500 tournament.
'It means a lot to me, because I'm 37 years old and I won this trophy today,' Maria told the press. 'People were always saying, 'Oh, now maybe it's time. You are too old. You are...' Whatever reason they say sometimes.
'I'm a good example that even in my age you still can win big trophies. I'm super proud of myself that I could win this tournament, because actually, I believed always in it, and my husband too. That's why we kept also going, because there was always this belief that I can win big tournaments and that I can do great things on the court.'
In their only previous meeting, Maria had beaten Anisimova in Beijing qualifying back in 2018. All these years later, the World No.86 defeated her again with her slice-and-dice game, carving her way to a win after 1 hour and 23 minutes of play.
With her daughters 11-year-old Charlotte and 4-year-old Cecilia joining husband/coach Charles in the front row of the stands, Maria became the oldest singles champion on the Hologic WTA Tour since another returning mother, Serena Williams, won the 2020 Auckland title aged 38.
'It's such a special moment for all of us, like a family together,' Maria said. 'We won this trophy together, because we stick together and we are doing everything together. So it's not like only me that I won this trophy today. It's like my whole family won this trophy.'
Maria frustrated her opponent, who is 14 years her junior, with sliced shots on both her forehand and backhand.
The German spent most of the match on the defensive but made virtually no errors and chased down nearly every ball.
Maria had already made a strong statement this week with outstanding victories over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Australian Open winner Madison Keys from the United States.
Wimbledon begins on June 30. In 2022, Maria achieved her greatest grand slam success there by reaching the semi-finals.
With her Queen's victory, the mother of two has returned to the top 50 in the rankings and, as of this Monday, is Germany's number one.
She had previously been out of form and not won a match since April. Maria's previous tournament win came in Bogotá, Colombia, in 2023.
This was the first time in 52 years that London's Queen's Club had held a women's tournament.
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