Tatjana Maria is the first women’s champion at Queen’s since 1973. The qualifier beat American world No. 15 Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 with a masterful exhibition of grass-court tennis Sunday, to win the first WTA event at the venue in over 50 years.
It is Maria’s first title in two years. It is her second on grass and her first at WTA 500 level, and Maria beat four top-20 players in a row on the way to the title, having not beaten anyone of that ranking in almost three years. She is the oldest player to win a WTA Tour title since Serena Williams’ win at the Auckland Classic in 2020.
Maria, 37, forced two Grand Slam champions, three seeds and seven opponents in total to play on her terms all week in west London, using variations in slice on both her forehand and backhand to break their rhythm. She slowly moved Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and then Anisimova into parts of the court that are deep waters for them and rock pools for her. Sometimes her slices skidded through, taking away time. Sometimes they lazily floated over the net, before hitting the grass in a game of chance: some checking, some scudding, some jumping sideways. For Maria’s opponents, even slightly errant footwork became fatal. On match point against Keys, a lob teased the American into swinging and…
