Mom Maria! What a sensation!
Mother of two from Germany rocks Wimbledon
Tatjana Maria (34) is the big surprise at Wimbledon. The German proves that you can also be successful as a mother and would like more support from the WTA.
Published: 8:51 am
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Updated: 49 minutes ago
In 2007, Tatjana Maria served for the first time in a Grand Slam. And failed in the Wimbledon opening round 1: 6, 4: 6 at Kaia Kanepi (Est).
15 years later she is the big surprise in London. After victories against world number 5 Maria Sakkari (Gr) and the Latvian French Open winner 2017 Jelena Ostapenko (WTA 17), she is in the quarterfinals. And that as world number 103! Your best major result so far? The 3rd round (Wimbledon 2015).
“Family is the most important”
The secret of her success is her family. After hard times – in 2008 she suffered a pulmonary embolism due to a thrombosis, a short time later her father died of cancer – she met Charles Maria in 2012. First he was just her coach, then the two fell in love and married in 2013. Now they are parents to Charlotte (8) and Cecilia (15 months).
“The most important thing is the family, tennis is number 2,” she says. And always has your loved ones with you. “I love being a mother.” She celebrated her only tournament victories (Mallorca 2018 and Bogota 2022) as a mother, as well as her highest classification (46th place in 2017). Also because she switched from the two-handed to the one-handed backhand during the first baby break.
“There should be more mothers on the tour,” says the German. “I think I’m a very good role model, being back on the tour with two children and playing tennis at a high level.” She is good friends with another mother: Serena Williams. The two are neighbors in West Palm Beach and take care of each other’s children.
WTA supports mothers too little
In Wimbledon others do that, there is a kindergarten. A great thing, says Maria at a press conference. It’s just a pity that this doesn’t exist in other tournaments. “It’s good for the children, they know each other. The WTA should help and accommodate mothers more. » As early as March, she had criticized the organization for the “Sportschau” because mothers were treated like injured players. So far there has been no answer.
Maybe she’ll get it as a Grand Slam winner. But there is still a long way to go. The first thing to do is get through the quarterfinals. The opponent? Another surprise woman. In the German duel on Tuesday she meets Jule Niemeier (22, WTA 97), who is playing in Wimbledon for the first time. And the German newspaper Bild is already asking itself: Who should we keep our fingers crossed for? (bir)
