Naomi Broady has explained one narrative she keeps hearing about Tatjana Maria which she absolutely hates.
After all, the 37-year-old has shot back to prominence in the last few weeks after her mesmeric run to the title at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Emerging as a qualifier, she beat stars like Leylah Fernandez, Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys to reach the final, before then overcoming Amanda Anisimova to claim the crown.
And yet, despite the nature of this success, some are seeking to put Maria down. Luckily, Broady is on hand to defend her.
Naomi Broady hates one Tatjana Maria narrative
Asked to explain how Maria’s magical run to the Queen’s title came about, Broady was effusive in her praise for the giant killer.
She claimed: ‘You know what, the British public love Tatjana.
‘I think they remember when she made it through to the semi-finals of Wimbledon a couple of years ago and also just her story, the fact that she’s a mother of two children. I’m a mum myself now. Anybody with kids knows how difficult it is and they travel together as a family.
‘So I think seeing that side of her everybody really cheers for her and gets behind her and has a real soft spot for her.
‘Well, her tennis is perfect for the grass courts. And, you know, we get people kind of saying, oh, but you know, she’s maybe not playing, like, nice tennis, and I just hate that idea as a whole, because we saw it at the French Open final with Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, right, you don’t need to play the nicest, prettiest tennis to win.
‘It’s about using what you have on the day, being the smartest, fighting the hardest, and Tatjana makes her opponents uncomfortable, and she actually said in her post-match interview when she won, she said, “This is my tennis that I play in every match, so I know I have the advantage, because it’s, you know, my opponent steps on court against me and they’re kind of playing catch up to my tactics. This is what I do all day, every day.”
‘So she’s playing really smart out there, and those slices stay so low, she knows exactly what she’s doing.’
Tournament director Laura Robson has been surprised by one thing that’s happened at Queen’s this year, aside from the shock winner.
Could Tatjana Maria have a run at Wimbledon?
It’s no secret that Maria’s entire year seems to revolve around the grass, given how her game is perfectly suited to it.
She does not deviate her play style from surface to surface, and so when this part of the year rolls around she rushes from event to event to get as much as she can out of the grass.
This has been perfectly evidenced by her decision to rush from Queen’s, fresh from her title triumph, over to Nottingham.
Unbothered about physical preparedness ahead of Wimbledon, and instead focusing on just getting minutes on this surface, many have posited that Maria could enjoy a run at Wimbledon to back up her latest title.
After all, the German did reach the semi-finals as recently as 2022, losing to Ons Jabeur.
However, at 37, this does seem unlikely.
Her game style is awkward and unorthodox, but it rarely takes the game to her opponents. Should a big ball striker like Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva or even Rybakina, who she beat last week, be on form, the match would be beyond her.
It’s wholly possible, but at a Grand Slam, things are so different. Other than that semi-final run, Maria has only been past the second round on one occasion.
