Tatjana Maria’s inspiring message after epic Wimbledon run: “everything is possible”

In her last visit to Wimbledon’s main interview room in 2022, Germany’s Tatjana Maria did her best to sum up what her incredible run to the semi-finals meant to her. As has been the case throughout the Wimbledon fortnight, she was spot-on with her words.

“I hope that I can send this message out that I have two kids and I’m on this stage: I think everything is possible,” Maria said. “I’m 34 years old with two kids and playing my first time semi-final in Wimbledon. So I think maybe people will see that everything is possible, even to keep going, to believe in themselves, to keep going, to fight, to love what they are doing, to enjoy – at the end to enjoy life.”

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Tennis Majors

Joy being the operative word.

Maria, mother of two, wowed the Wimbledon faithful as she took herself on a run for the ages at SW19. It wasn’t just her tennis, it was the way that she carried herself, and the pride she takes in her family. Maria comes off as a woman who is as happy with Pampers in her hand as she is with a racquet, and that down-to-earth nurturing side of her is what helped connect her with fans during the last ten days in London.

The 34-year-old had never been past the third round at a major before, but something clicked this week as she rode the crest of a wave to within one set of reaching the Wimbledon final.

She finally fell to Ons Jabeur in semi-final action on Thursday, but the defeat did nothing to dampen her spirits or diminish the significance of her achievement.

She is the fourth woman ranked outside of the top-100 to reach a Wimbledon semi-final since 1983; the first German woman over 34 to achieve the feat and the first mother of two to reach the last four at the All England Club since 1975.

“I have to take out all the positive what I did,” Maria said. “I mean, I have to realize that I can be on this stage.

“I showed it now that I was in a semifinal of Wimbledon. I think I can beat good players and I have to believe in myself to keep going now and to show it on different tournaments with points. Like this I can improve my ranking. I think there’s a lot of, lot of positive things what I can take out of this two weeks of Wimbledon.

Jabeur – she’s an inspiration

Her opponent in the semi-finals (and good friend and BBQ buddy) Ons Jabeur had nothing but praise for the woman who pushed her to three sets on Thursday.

“She deserves a lot of respect, Tatjana, her making the first time semi-final, the way she plays, the way she fights,” Jabeur said. “If I didn’t see her two kids, I would say she never had the kids.

“It’s amazing how she moves on the court. It’s really inspiring for a lot of women.”

A crazy adventure

Maria’s wild ride comes to an end – for now – but the German will always have the memories of the Wimbledon fortnight she spent with her husband (Charles-Edouard) and two daughters (Charlotte and Cecilia) in tow, as she shook up the tennis world with colossal upsets over players like No 5-seeded Maria Sakkari and No 12-seeded Jelena Ostapenko.

“At the end it was a crazy adventure with my family,” she said. “I played a semi-final of Wimbledon. For sure I’m sad now maybe a little bit because it stops here.

“But, like I said, we have to realize all these positive things, what happened these two weeks. I mean, I was so often down and I came back. You believe also in yourself more and more. It gives you confidence for more things.

“I hope in the future, yeah, I can keep going like this and improve every single day.”