German underdog Tatjana Maria capped off an extraordinary week at the HSBC Championships by beating Amanda Anisimova to claim her biggest title at the age of 37.
Maria, who entered the tournament on a nine-match losing streak, stunned the eighth seed 6-3, 6-4, in less than 90 minutes. Despite never playing in a final of an event above 250 level, the world No.86 broke her opponent four times and won 66% of her first service points. She is the oldest player to win a WTA 500 event and the oldest player to win a title of any sort on the Tour since Serena Williams at the 2020 ASB Classic.
“It was such a great tournament, I enjoyed every second here,” said Maria, who beat four top 15 players en route to the title.
“Everyone made it so special from the drivers, we had so much fun driving every day, ball kids, referees – everyone who made this tournament special, it was a pleasure to play here every day so thank you so much.
“To the crowd, what an amazing week. From the first day it was really full, such a nice atmosphere to play here in front of you all. To play tennis in front of this full crowd makes it so special and for us players we enjoy it so much so thank you so much for coming and cheering for us.”
Besides Anisimova, Maria also produced wins over seeded players Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina and Madrid Keys at the Queen’s Club. Whilst she is an unlikely winner on paper, Maria has previously shown her talent on the grass by reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon three years ago.
Praising her opponent, runner-up Anisimova has tipped Maria to produce another deep run at SW19 this year. Despite losing, the American will rise to a ranking high of No.13 on Monday.
“Tatjana, what an incredible week for you, so special. Congrats to you and your beautiful family, it’s really incredible to see you playing at this level and to have your whole family and team here with you, it’s super special to witness it,” said Anisimova.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw you in the Wimbledon final because you really had me running out there today,” she added.
Maria, who is a mother of two, will re-enter the top 50 on Monday for the first time since April 2024 following her triumph.
