After her fairytale run in Wimbledon, Tatjana Maria will first go to her German homeland. At the age of 34, the mother of two is far from thinking about the end of her career.
Tatjana Maria left the place of her greatest success with a few souvenirs from the souvenir shop.
After toasting her Wimbledon fairy tale again in the evening, the 34-year-old wants to support her Bundesliga team, TC Bredeney, at least as a spectator in the fight for the championship on Saturday. Even at an advanced tennis age, she still has big goals on the court and is far from thinking about the end of her career.
Wimbledon semi-final career highlight so far
“These two weeks were extremely important for me and showed that we are on the right track and that I can do a lot more,” said the Swabian after her sensational tournament with the semifinals as the highlight of her career so far. «I feel fit. I may play for a very, very long time.” In the final, she is crossing her fingers for her good friend and conqueror Ons Jabeur from Tunisia against Jelena Rybakina from Kazakhstan.
Bredeney’s team manager Torsten Rekasch said on Friday that a decision should be made at short notice whether Maria will play again in the Essen team’s crucial Bundesliga game against TK Blau-Weiss Aachen because of a minor injury. Jule Niemeier will definitely serve as the second big German Wimbledon surprise. “We are proud that we have the players in our squad. You can’t paint it better, »said Rekasch.
Rittner: “German women’s tennis well positioned”
So far, no German player after the generation around the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Julia Görges and Andrea Petkovic, to which Maria belongs, has made it into the top class. Women’s national coach Barbara Rittner sees the fact that Niemeier made it to the quarter-finals for the first time on the big stage at her second Grand Slam tournament as confirmation with a view to the future.
“I always knew that there was a new generation coming, and that was proof of that. We can look forward to the future and calmly observe and support the development of the young players,” said Rittner of the dpa. “But they just need time, like Jule, to develop further.”
Maria does not see this sporting development as completed for herself. For the first time since the birth of her second daughter Cecilia 15 months ago, she will again be in the top 100 in the world – but the big leap will not materialize because there were no points at Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian professionals. So the tour continues for them at smaller tournaments in Lausanne and Palermo.
Maria’s daughter Charlotte before a tennis career?
During the tournament, Maria also discussed a possible continuation of her career until her daughter Charlotte, who is currently eight, might make the leap to the professional level. “I always joked that after a third (child) I might come back. And maybe I’ll stay on tour until Charlotte plays. You never know what’s going to happen,” she said.
It is still open whether the German Tennis Association can also count on the eight-year-old as a hope for youngsters. Through Maria’s husband Charles-Edouard, Charlotte also has French citizenship and a US passport. “We live in America, it will stay that way,” said Maria about the future plans and said, looking at Charlotte: “She can decide which country she wants to play for someday.”
Source: Stern
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