2013 to 2014
A new backhand
During her maternity leave after the birth of her first daughter she changed from a two-handed to a one-handed backhand, the shot she has played ever since.
Source: WTAThe 21st century
Tatjana Maria
Germany · born Bad Saulgau, 1987 · right-handed · Mallorca 2018 and Queen's 2025 champion
All playersBack to the rankings
36
Career-high WTA singles ranking, July 2025
4
WTA singles titles, two of them on grass
SF
Wimbledon 2022, ranked 103, her first Grand Slam semi-final
37
Her age at the 2025 Queen's title, the oldest WTA 500 champion
1973
Last women's tournament at Queen's before the one she won in 2025
Playing career
Tatjana Maria, born Tatjana Malek in Bad Saulgau in 1987, played her first ITF events in 2001 and made her WTA main-draw debut in 2006. She took a break in 2013 to have her first child, came back in 2014 with a one-handed backhand she had switched to during her maternity leave, and in 2017 broke into the top 50 for the first time while playing 33 tournaments, more than any other player that year.
Her first WTA title came on grass in Mallorca in 2018. She missed the first half of 2021 after the birth of her second daughter, then in 2022 won Bogotá as a qualifier and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals ranked 103, beating Maria Sakkari and Jeļena Ostapenko on the way. She defended the Bogotá title in 2023.
In June 2025, at 37 and as a qualifier ranked 86, she won Queen's, beating four top-15 players, and became the oldest winner of a WTA 500 event. She reached a career-high No. 36 that July and finished the year at No. 41, her best year-end ranking. In June 2026, at 38, she reached the Eastbourne final. As of November 2026 she is still playing, with four WTA singles titles and four in doubles.
On grass
| Mallorca 2018 | Beat the world No. 20 Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 7-5 in the final for her first WTA title, aged 30 |
|---|---|
| Queen's 2025 | Won seven matches from the first round of qualifying; in the main draw beat the seeds Karolina Muchová, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and, in the final, Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon 2022 | Beat the fifth seed Maria Sakkari, then the 12th seed Jeļena Ostapenko after saving two match points, and Jule Niemeier in the quarter-finals; lost the semi-final to Ons Jabeur 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 |
| Eastbourne 2026 | Reached the final at 38 and lost to Madison Keys 7-5, 6-4 |
| Newport, WTA 125 | Runner-up to Caty McNally in 2025 and champion in 2026, beating Katie Volynets 6-2, 6-4; WTA 125 events are below tour level |
Every grass title: 2
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Mallorca | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Women's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2025 | Women's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I think grass is perfect for my slice. I am serving well, I can play a lot of slice, I can go to the net."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
On tour, 2017
Thirty-three tournaments
In 2017 she played 33 tournaments, more than anyone else on the tour, and her young daughter travelled with her to all but a few of them. She finished the year in the top 50 for the first time.
Source: WTAQueen's, June 2025
Take this trophy
Early in the week she sat on a sofa at Queen's with her four-year-old daughter, looking at photographs of the big trophies. Her daughter told her she had to take one. "And I said, OK, I will try to win it. And it's funny that I won it." The girl slept through most of the celebrations in her pram.
Source: WTAQueen's, June 2025
Only one like her
Asked how she would have fared in the wooden-racquet era, she said players then played more like her: "Nowadays, you have only me who is playing like me. So it actually helps me, too, that nobody plays my style and everybody has to get used to playing against me."
Source: WTAFamily doubles
A plan with her daughter
Her elder daughter, who has travelled on tour with her since she was three months old, wants to be a professional. Maria said in 2025 that she hoped her body would hold up long enough for the two of them to play doubles together on the tour.
Source: Sports IllustratedJoin Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
- Mallorca Open, Santa Ponsa
- Queen's Club, London
- Find a grass court near you
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Tatjana Maria, WTA profile and career record
- "One slice at a time: Tatjana Maria wins Queen's Club", WTA, 2025
- "Tatjana Maria wins first women's title at Queen's Club in 52 years", Sports Illustrated, 2025
- Tatjana Maria, Olympedia
- WTA past winners, Mallorca
- Tatjana Maria, Wikipedia
- Mallorca Open, Wikipedia
- Queen's Club Championships, Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
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