Okay, then, here’s something for the divers: After Tatjana Maria, the mother of two, became the oldest winner of a WTA 500 at Queens Club in London this summer, Townsend—at the tournament in Washington, D.C.—recalled seeing Maria years ago at a minor event accompanied by her husband and first child, Charlotte.
“Charlotte was maybe six months old, and her hair was black, and she had these big blue eyes. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen in my life,’” Townsend said. “Tatjana’s husband was on the side of the court, coaching, and I was, like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this lady is a superhero.’ And now she has another daughter. At the time, I was like, ‘I can’t, I could never, I can’t imagine doing that. Oh, my God.’ Now look at me. Yeah, she is one of the OG moms on tour.”
Townsend is also a compulsive truth-teller, with a mischievous streak. Just ask her pal Tiafoe, who showed up to play in D.C. wearing a yellow jersey and maroon shorts, an homage to his beloved Washington Commanders. Townsend told him that she was going to go to his match and scream the McDonald’s jingle because of the colors.
“Ronald McDonald, my man!” Townsend quipped, adding, “The thing is I’m very honest, so it’s—I tell him to his face. I tell Jill (Smoller, Tiafoe’s agent). I’m very honest. It’s not my favorite outfit.”
I’m a little upset with her,” Tiafoe groused later, only half-serious, “Taylor was clowning my outfit, calling me Ronald McDonald. I wasn’t messing with that at all.”
