It’s the type of story that most mothers would ‘one day’ love to tell their children. But the daughters of Tatjana Maria, who progressed to a first Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday, are experiencing the fairytale first-hand.

And what a tale Maria is weaving at The Championships 2022.

At 34, she is ranked outside the world’s top 100 and contesting Wimbledon for the first time in three years. Even more remarkably, the German had never progressed beyond the third round in her 34 previous Grand Slams.

“It’s amazing,” Maria said, still beaming more than an hour after claiming a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory over countrywoman Jule Niemeier to record her new Grand Slam high. “I tried to calm down a little bit in the locker room… but it's still hard to realise it.”

While it was a breakthrough that always seemed possible for the popular Maria, it was perhaps one she didn’t expect this year. She is the mother of eight-year-old Charlotte, and her second daughter, Cecilia, was born only 15 months ago.

“I always believed in this but to be now here in this spot...” she said. “One year ago, I gave birth to my second daughter. If somebody would tell me one year later you are in a semi-final of Wimbledon, that’s crazy.”

In many ways, though, it’s motherhood that has helped her achieve her dream. Maria, who has established a daily morning routine of hitting with tennis-loving Charlotte at Wimbledon’s practice facilities, is thriving with a ‘family first’ mindset.

“To be a mum, for me, is on the top of my life, so I think it helps me in tennis too, because now my priority are my kids. I mean, for sure I play tennis, I want to do my best, and, yeah, that’s all I want. But my kids are the priority,” she said.

“If I go out here, I want my kids to be happy, healthy, that everything is OK. That’s the most important (thing) for me in my life.”

That’s also true for Maria’s coach and husband Charles Edouard Maria, whom she married in 2013. “That’s why it works so well that we are working together,” Maria said. “We are never fighting about tennis because we both know family is the most important. It will always stay like this.”

As she creates some stunning memories for her daughters, Maria is setting a positive example in many ways. All but one of her matches at Wimbledon 2022 have been three-set contests; her lone two-set victory came in the third round against No.5 seed Maria Sakkari, the highest-ranked opponent in her path so far. She saved two match points against No.12 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round.

It points to the fighting spirit which has helped make a tremendous success of Maria’s return to tennis after each period of maternity leave. During her first break from the sport, the German famously transitioned to the single-handed backhand that has proven such a weapon in SW19.

“I guess there are a lot of people who never believed I would come back. This was already after Charlotte and when I changed my backhand,” Maria reflected.

“To be honest, I showed it last time already that I am back. I mean, I reached the top 50 with Charlotte, and now I’m back with my second child. Still everybody was doubting.

“It’s a little bit my life (objective) to show everybody that I’m still here and I’m a fighter, and I keep going and I keep dreaming. That’s what I want to show my kids.”

Maria can do so knowing she has joined an illustrious group: Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Venus Williams and Serena Williams are the only other women in the Open era to have contested a Wimbledon quarter-final after turning 34.

“To be in a list of such great players, it’s amazing,” Maria said. “To have my name in the same spot, yeah, I still cannot believe it, really. It makes me proud.”

Click here to join myWimbledon for a range of exclusive benefits, including access to tickets and the ability to personalise your digital experience with us.

Following along from home this year? You can still experience the classic Wimbledon atmosphere on the Virtual Hill, presented by our Official Partner American Express