Tatjana Maria crowned queen of Queen’s as women’s tournament celebrates triumphant return

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Fifty-two years ago, Olga Morozova became the last woman to lift the Queen’s trophy. Her stint as defending champion lasted until Tatjana Maria lifted an enormous new trophy – the old one lost to the mists of time – on Sunday. It crowned a week in which the traditions of one of the game’s most hallowed tournaments merged with the contemporary drive to push women’s sport to even greater heights.

This time a year ago, there was outrage from some quarters at the thought that women would return to Queen’s after half a century’s absence. Members of the prestigious west London club objected to their facilities being taken out of action for even longer than usual; there were concerns over wear on the grass ahead of the men’s event. A bloc of Queen’s members even attempted to force the board to resign over the concept of dragging the tournament into the 21st century.

If that felt hideously backwards last year, it appears even more near-sighted today, after a triumphant week for the rejuvenated women’s event. (Even the British weather largely cooperated, barring a couple of rain delays early on.)

And it felt fitting that the tournament’s debut would have two trailblazers, in different ways, in the final.

The surprise package of the week has been qualifier Maria. A 37-year-old veteran of the tour, she took two breaks from the game to have daughters Charlotte, 11, and Cecilia, four, who accompany her – along with her coach-husband Charles-Edouard – to every tournament.

open image in gallery Maria topped off a fairytale run by becoming the oldest WTA 500 champion ( Getty )

The German reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2022 but hasn’t found the same level since, enduring a nine-match losing streak before coming to Queen’s. “It’s the perfect example to never give up and always keep going, because I’m still here and living this dream,” she said on Friday. It certainly is.

On the other side of the net was 23-year-old Amanda Anisimova, a former teenage prodigy, who showcased her incredible potential with a run to the French Open semi-finals aged just 17.

Tennis abounds with cautionary tales of young stars who burn brightly and then burn out. Anisimova, struggling with the stress of life on tour, took a break in 2023 to look after her mental health and rediscover who she was. Taking a step back worked wonders, and the American has reached new heights since her return, winning her maiden WTA 1000 title earlier this year and moving up to a career-high ranking of 15th.

World No 86 Maria was the underdog by ranking going into this final. Then again, she has been in every match she has played this week, but her guile and experience have seen her through. The low bounce of grass perfectly suits her crafty, unconventional game, built on a slice that has been confounding the world’s best players all week.

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open image in gallery Maria was surrounded by her family, who accompany her on the tour, after her victory ( Getty )

Having dispatched 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the quarter- and semi-finals, respectively, she rapidly got on top of Anisimova, a player with a similar power-hitting style. Maria denied Anisimova any rhythm, taking all the pace off the ball, and earned a chance to break early with a crunching topspin forehand. She took it and raced to a 4-1 lead inside 15 minutes, with Anisimova already baffled at how to deal with this most bamboozling of opponents.

The young American’s formidable groundstrokes helped get her back on serve, but she could not build any momentum, and Maria immediately broke back, holding to love to seal the first set. The German – now the oldest WTA 500 finalist, and oldest champion – broke at the start of the second, her ability to mix slice and spin with a deft touch at the net continuing to get the better of her big-hitting opponent.

One point, on Maria’s serve at 2-1, summed up the match: Anisimova fired down smash after smash, only for Maria to dig each one out at the baseline, before the American eventually hit long. She looked on the verge of tears. Maria held after a mammoth 20-point game, then broke again, picking up a backhand volley that was mere millimetres away from bouncing twice to seal it.

Anisimova reduced her deficit to just one break and stuck with the German in the latter stages of the set, but there was no getting past an inspired Maria. The American blasted a forehand wide on championship point, and Maria sealed the biggest singles title of her career, 6-3, 6-4. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see you in the Wimbledon final,” Anisimova said afterwards, jokingly adding, “I think that bigger champagne bottle is for me, because I need it more.”

open image in gallery Anisimova struggled to get any rhythm against a crafty opponent ( Getty for LTA )

Maria, whose speed and agility on the court belied her age, jumped for joy and raced to celebrate with her family – although her four-year-old may have missed the moment of her mother’s biggest triumph, sleeping peacefully in the player’s box. “Queen of Queens”, the 37-year-old wrote on the camera lens.

Both players thanked the appreciative crowds, Anisimova adding, “For you to come out and support women’s tennis so much, it means a lot”. The crowd has certainly got behind the new tournament: around 80 per cent of tickets were sold ahead of the first day’s action, with the Andy Murray Arena filled to bursting on quarter-finals day on Friday, even before Emma Raducanu – third on the schedule – took to the court. Semi-finals day on Saturday sold out.

The response from the players, too, has been resoundingly positive. Second seed Keys, one of the most high-profile women to feature, said after her quarter-final win on Friday that “I think it’s the best 500 that I have played”.

She noted that the fact that it had already attracted such a competitive field in its first year – including six grand slam champions and three of the current top 10, despite taking place immediately after the French Open – made it a “pretty high-level 500 right away”.

open image in gallery Packed crowds attended each day of the inaugural women's event ( Getty for LTA )

Heather Watson, a veteran of British tennis, went further: “I think it’s huge for tennis in this country.” Katie Boulter, whose battle with Raducanu for the British No 1 spot has taken centre stage this week, said, “Queen’s is everything that I kind of dreamt it would be. I feel like it’s a moment for women’s tennis and women’s sport in general right now.” Both Boulter and Maria called it a “privilege” to play here.

At times, the tournament proved unable to handle the scale of demand. The doubles partnership between Boulter and Raducanu proved such an attraction that punters queued for over an hour to access their first-round match. Warned that once they were let in, they would be unable to leave, fans opted against loo breaks and refills of Pimm’s in favour of watching British tennis’s two biggest stars.

Their matches would likely have filled the 7,700-capacity Andy Murray Arena too, but due to the tournament’s contractual obligations with the WTA, which prioritises singles matches on main courts, “Boultercanu” were stuck on the standing-room-only Court 1. A thousand fans crammed in to cheer them on.

Unlike the majority of mixed tournaments, Queen’s is running its women’s and men’s events on separate weeks. That has meant that the thousands of spectators descending on west London each day have turned up in their masses solely to watch women’s tennis. Those punters have had their faith repaid.

Perhaps in the future the two tournaments will integrate fully, although Keys quipped: “I like when we don’t have to share with the boys.” For now, the spotlight has been solely on the women; they have made sure it has been a blinding success.

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