GERMAN qualifier Tatjana Maria became the first woman to win a title at Queen’s since 1973 after beating eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-4 at the Andy Murray Arena.

Maria claimed the biggest title of her career to cap off the first women’s tournament — boasting a £1 million prize pot — held at the historic west London venue in 52 years.

It was a family affair for Maria, whose daughters, 11-year-old Charlotte and four-year-old Cecilia joined her husband and coach Charles-Edouard Maria in the front row to watch the 37-year-old dispatch American Anisimova in one hour and 23 minutes.

Maria, who knocked out top-20 players Karolina Muchova, Elena Rybakina and Madison Keys en route to the final, is the oldest WTA singles tour winner since 2020, when Serena Williams won in Auckland, aged 38.

She replaces Olga Morozova, who once coached a young Murray, as the most recent female winner at Queen’s, and marked the venue’s new chapter by scribbling “queen of Queen’s” on the camera.

Maria entered this WTA 500 tournament at 86th in the rankings, but the triumph will catapult her to number 43 when they update on Monday — when Emma Raducanu will also officially take over from Katie Boulter as British number one.

The 2022 German Wimbledon semi-finalist won her first WTA title on grass at Mallorca in 2018, following it with back-to-back clay court trophies at Bogota in 2023.