Tennis mom Tatjana Maria: "I'm the teacher!"
Tatjana Maria (WTA No. 212) is currently playing her way back to the top of the world after the birth of her second daughter. In the tennisnet interview, we spoke to the 34-year-old about traveling with children, private school lessons and her further career plans.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 27, 2022, 11:59 am
Tatjana Maria has been a tennis pro since 2001. In 2017 she was number 46 in the tennis world, in 2018 she won her first WTA title in Mallorca. Maria has two daughters, Charlotte (born 2013) and Cecilia (born 2021). She travels the tennis world in the "family business" with husband and coach Charles Edouard Maria.
Ms. Maria, you made your comeback last summer after the birth of your second daughter. You bounced back fairly quickly - are you a player who likes to bounce back through tournaments?
It was planned from the start that I would come back, just like with our first daughter Charlotte. When I gave birth to Cecilia everything went well so after six or seven weeks I was able to start light training again. In general, I'm someone who likes to play tournaments and get into the rhythm with it. You also train on site with other players, the level improves almost by itself.
Most recently you won the ITF tournament in Rome and then reached the semi-finals in Grenoble. Did you have a good preparation for this year?
I played a lot last year, including World Team Tennis in the USA at the end of November. That was great: I trained in the morning and played matches in the evening. In this format you have one game after the other, every day singles, doubles, mixed. Our team also won the thing. That gave me a lot of confidence. We then flew to Australia at the end of December, so the classic preparation was shorter. But after Cecilia's birth, I trained for my comeback for three months, and in the end it was relatively hard preparation.
Traveling the world as a tennis pro with a child is probably a challenge. Is it different with two children?
I have to praise my daughters: both are great at traveling and at sleeping, we are very lucky. Charlotte is already eight years old, she helps a lot and does a great job. She takes good care of her sister, is almost more the mom than me (laughs) .
Do you have family support?
We traveled alone for the first six months. In Australia, my grandmother, my husband's mother, was with us. She often travels with us. We are now flying alone to France and Indian Wells, but she will be back at the start in the summer. That helps a lot.
Do you always have your husband and children with you? Like last week when you flew to Europe for just one tournament and straight back?
We were all there together, but it was a bit tricky. At the moment there are so few tournaments, with my ranking it is often unclear for a long time which one I will get into. After the tournament in Grenoble I was hoping to get a wildcard for Doha. That unfortunately did not work. Then I had speculated with Guadalajara, so we're back. However, I didn't get in there either. Now I've been given a wildcard for Lyon to qualify - which means it's back to Europe...
Charlotte is already of school age: is she homeschooling or do you have a teacher with her?
Yes, I am the teacher! (laughs) Charlotte does the "Florida Virtual School", it's a daily program that she has to go through. Even with daily homework. The teacher calls every two weeks and sees if she's studying well and also takes tests with her.
Is this program only for elementary school or beyond?
You can actually go through this school to the end, to the degree. I don't think I'll be the teacher for the next twelve years, but it's going well for now.
You once feared that you would have to end your career when Charlotte started school.
You should never say things like that, right? No, school is going great. Coco Gauff did the same. It's going well at the moment, in a few years we might need a real teacher. Although Charlotte can certainly do a lot on her own. We currently study together for two or three hours a day.
So there isn't a limit to how long you can continue as a professional player?
No, I would like to have more children. But how long do I play? I don't set myself any limits. Maybe I'll have a third child and come back again - I don't know. Charlotte plays tennis herself, she loves it! And it's great for them to be at the big tournaments and to see all their colleagues. Everyone plays with her. At the moment we are just enjoying this time.
Does Charlotte already have ambitions to follow in your footsteps? In videos you can see them playing technically very clean.
Yes, she is really good at it! Nike even watched her in Australia and signed her, so she gets clothes sponsored. That's great, she was really happy. Do you want to try becoming a professional? Just take a look. It depends if she wants it. We would support them. It's like Alexander Zverev, who traveled with Mischa and the whole family: The kids grow up on this tour, they grow up. And maybe continue at some point.
Her husband Charles Edouard Maria is a former professional and also your coach. How did you actually meet?
My former coach came from France but was based in Stuttgart. He knew Charles and when I was playing my tournaments in America he called him and asked if we could come and see him for a week. So we flew to Palm Beach and, well… I stayed there (laughs) .
Whom did your husband take care of with you before that time?
At that time he was the coach of Venus Williams.
What!
He never traveled with her, but as soon as she got home he did everything with her. The Williams sisters live a five minute drive from our house, actually it's the other entrance across the street, but a different community. But right now we don't see each other that often. The two are currently not playing any tournaments.
Under Charles you switched your backhand from two-handed to one-handed after your return from the first baby break. A big step from a certain age.
I had mostly played backhand slices before and only rarely followed through. So my hips were already set for the one-handed backhand. My husband said: Come on, we'll switch to the one-handed one. It wasn't easy at first, it's a completely different breed. But I didn't see any risk: I still had my slice. Now my backhand is better than ever. In any case, it was the right decision.
Thank you for the interview and all the best for the coming time!