Tatjana Maria

Tatjana Maria: a breakthrough after her maternity break

German tennis player Tatjana Maria has achieved something very special in her career: after her maternity break she not only returned successfully to the WTA Tour, she suddenly played better than ever and won her first titles at WTA level. She now has four WTA singles titles to her name – the biggest of them so far in 2025 at the grass-court tournament at London's Queen's Club, which she won as a qualifier at the age of 37. Born Tatjana Malek on 8 August 1987 in the Upper Swabian spa town of Bad Saulgau, she was already on a tennis court at the age of four. Sport was in her blood anyway.

Her father Heinrich Malek, who died in 2008, played handball for the Polish national team, so his daughter's passion for sport is hardly surprising. Her Austrian mother is a teacher and Maria also has two younger brothers. In April 2013 she married her coach and manager, Frenchman Charles-Edouard Maria, in Palm Beach Gardens in the USA; the couple have two daughters: Charlotte, born in December 2013, and Cecilia, born in April 2021.

An unconventional player with a great feel for the ball

Tatjana Maria's style of play is considered unique on the WTA Tour. Her unconventional game is characterised by plenty of heavily sliced shots, not only off the backhand but off the forehand too. During her maternity break after Wimbledon 2013, the 1.72-metre right-hander decided to switch from a two-handed to a one-handed backhand. With considerable success, as would later become clear.

As a junior, Tatjana Maria, nicknamed "Tadde", won numerous district and Württemberg championships as well as the German championship in every age group from under-14 to under-18. Her international junior career, by contrast, was rather unremarkable. She did play all four Grand Slams, but apart from one occasion at Wimbledon never got past the first round. Following her professional debut in 2001, Tatjana Maria initially played on the ITF Tour, where she won numerous tournaments over the years.

Milestones in Tatjana Maria's career

After failing in qualifying several times, Tatjana Maria finally reached the main draw of a WTA tournament for the first time in 2006. At the indoor event in Luxembourg, though, her run ended in the first round. Maria's Fed Cup debut the same year went better, as she won her match in the tie against China convincingly. A year later in Berlin the slice specialist also claimed her first main-draw win at a WTA tournament, against Vasilisa Bardina – and broke into the world's top 100 for the first time.

That allowed Tatjana Maria to qualify directly for Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in her career. Back then, however, she still earned the bulk of her ranking points on the ITF circuit. She claimed her first main-draw win at one of the four majors in 2009 at the Australian Open, where she reached the second round for the first time – a result she repeated at Wimbledon the same year. She came through a severe test off court in 2008: Maria suffered a pulmonary embolism and then fought her way back onto the tour.

A fresh start after her maternity break

When Tatjana Maria was pregnant with her daughter Charlotte in 2013 she took a maternity break. What for many players means a serious setback in their career seemed for her to be more of a fresh start. The young mother initially played mainly on the ITF Tour again, but in 2015 she made a first statement at the Miami Open, beating world number seven Eugenie Bouchard for her first win over a top 10 player and reaching the third round. Thanks to her strong performances she finished the season at number 68 – the first time in years that Tatjana Maria ended the year among the world's top 100 players.

And it kept going upwards: in 2017 she finished the season at number 46, inside the top 50 for the first time, and a year later the long-awaited tournament win at WTA level finally followed. At the Mallorca Open she beat defending champion Anastasija Sevastova in straight sets in the final, and that despite having lost 14 of her 16 matches since the start of the season going into the tournament.

Wimbledon semi-final, Bogotá and the coup at Queen's

Her best-known statement came at Wimbledon in 2022, when Tatjana Maria reached the semi-finals completely out of the blue, winning an all-German quarter-final against Jule Niemeier in three sets (4-6, 6-2, 7-5) on the way. Only Ons Jabeur stopped her in the semi-finals – making her just the sixth German woman ever to go that far at Wimbledon.

In the same year she won her second WTA title in Bogotá at the Copa Colsanitas (beating Laura Pigossi in the final) and successfully defended it in 2023 against Peyton Stearns. The highlight came in 2025: at the WTA 500 grass-court tournament at London's Queen's Club, Maria, a qualifier ranked number 86 in the world, beat no fewer than four top 15 players and won the final against Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4. At 37 she was the oldest ever winner of a WTA 500 tournament – shortly afterwards, on 14 July 2025, she climbed to her career high of number 36.

Even at 39 Tatjana Maria has no thought of stopping: in 2026 she reached the final in Eastbourne again and won the WTA 125 tournament in Newport without dropping a set, beating Katie Volynets in the final (6-2, 6-4), which keeps her within striking distance of the top 100 (number 83, as of September 2026).

Tatjana Maria has enjoyed success in doubles too: among her four WTA doubles titles is her first in 2012 in Québec alongside France's Kristina Mladenovic, followed by Bogotá 2016 and Seoul 2019 with Lara Arruabarrena as well as Acapulco 2018 with Heather Watson. Her best Grand Slam doubles result to date came in 2018, when she reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals with Britain's Heather Watson.

Tatjana Maria's equipment: racket, shoes & outfit

For the touch in her slices, Maria relies on the Yonex VCORE series, Yonex's spin line: the isometric head shape enlarges the hitting area and the open string pattern generates plenty of rotation. At 100 square inches her frame is more forgiving than classic 98-inch tournament rackets – and therefore a realistic choice for ambitious club players too. You will find more models under Yonex women's tennis rackets, together with matching Yonex tennis strings and Yonex tennis bags.

On court, Maria wears tournament shoes from Nike, above all the fast, close-fitting Nike Vapor line – you will find it in women's sizes under tennis shoes for women. Her outfit comes from the current Nike tennis collections: shirts, dresses and tennis skirts, complemented by caps and visors.

You will also find the equipment of other leading German players with us – for example Laura Siegemund and Eva Lys. Our 30-day money-back promise applies to every order: if something does not fit, you simply send it back.