The German professional tennis player Tatjana Maria is blessed to have parents who inspired her to have a tennis career. Her parents introduced her to the game when she was just four.
Born and raised in Bad Saulgau, Germany, Tatjana learned tennis tricks and skills from her dad. He was a professional handball player, and in addition, he was pretty good at tennis.
Even though she turned professional in 2001, Maria remained trophyless for nearly two decades.
She entered the top 50 in the world rankings in 2017 but felt much pressure as she had not won any competitions.
However, it all changed when she won her first WTA tour title in Mallorca, Spain, by defeating the Latvian athlete Anastasija Sevastova in 2018.
Maria won her second title in 2022 at the Copa Colsanitas by winning two sets out of three against the Brazilian Laura Pigossi in the finals. She defended her title, defeating Peyton Stearns in 2023.
Likewise, the year 2022 proved to be the most memorable one in her life. Aside from winning her second trophy, she reached the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time, being the sixth German woman to achieve that feat.
Despite losing the semis against world no. 2 Ons Jabeur, she won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year in 2022.
Tatjana Maria’s Parents Are Her Inspiration
Tatjana Maria was born on August 8, 1987, to her parents, Heinrich and Margit Malek, in Bad Saulgau, Germany, and grew up with two brothers.
The daughter of avid tennis fans, her parents introduced her to tennis when she was still a toddler.
Her father, Heinrich, was originally from Zabrze, the southern part of Poland. As a youth, he played in international handball tournaments representing Poland.
In addition, Heinrich was her first coach, and she got all the support she needed to carry on with her tennis aspirations from her parents.
Unfortunately, Tatjana Maria’s father is no more, as he reportedly died in 2008.
Talking about Tatjana’s mother, Margit attended Ursulinen Graz and studied at PH Weingarten.
According to her Linkedin profile, she previously worked as a Lecturer at Albstadt Seminary and teacher at Berta Hummel School.
In addition, she is the managing director at Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE).
Brothers Daniel And Matthias
As stated above, Maria has two brothers- Daniel and Matthias Malek.
Her brothers are involved in digital advertising and have a company named Danlin Media GmbH, probably named after Daniel and Aylin. Aylin Malek is Daniel’s wife, and they have two kids, Eleysa and Zendaya.
He founded the company with his wife, brother, and friends around 2014.
While Daniel is the company’s managing director, Matthias and Aylin are senior account managers. According to their social media profile, their agency specializes in web and motion designing.
Tatjana Is Married To Her Coach Charles Maria
Tatjana Malek married her tennis coach Charles-Edouard Maria on April 8, 2013. Before being her head coach, Charles was formerly a tennis player.
Born on May 18, 1974, in France, Charles became more successful as a coach to his wife than a professional player.
Although he played tennis for quite some time, he never reached the top 100 ATP rankings.
Speaking of their married life, Tatjana and Charles are parents of two kids. Their first daughter, Charlotte, was born on December 20, 2013.
Similarly, they welcomed their second daughter on April 2, 2021. Her name is Cecilia Maria.
