HSBC Championships 2025: Beatriz Haddad Maia claims first victory on the Andy Murray Arena
• 2 MINUTE READ
Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first player to win a match on the newly named Andy Murray Arena at The Queen’s Club after coming back to knock out two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
The world No.22 dropped just six points on her first serve in the final two sets as she rallied back to beat the former world No.2 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
This was the first match to be played on the Andy Murray Arena as part of the return of women’s tennis to The Queen’s Club. This week’s WTA 500 tournament marks the first tour-level women’s event in West London since 1973.
It followed the official court unveiling ceremony with Sir Andy Murray himself earlier in the morning and the three-time Grand Slam champion was there alongside both players for the coin toss at the start of the match.
“She’s a great player and for sure one of the best players on this surface,” said Haddad Maia. “It’s a privilege to be here, I started with Andy (Murray) on the net and I was like ‘oh my god look at this stage’.
“This club is very special and it means a lot to me to be on this stadium in front of everyone who loves tennis – it’s very special to play here for the first time.”
“I think, Andy is a huge name not only for your country but also for us. It’s a lesson to watch him, learn from him. Sometimes we talk a lot about who wins more Grand Slams but there are a lot of players we need to respect because they make a lot of things for our sport – I really respect him and it’s very special to play on his court.”
Haddad Maia has a strong pedigree on the grass as a former champion at Nottingham and Birmingham in 2022 and proved that she will be a force to be reckoned with at The Queen’s Club this week. She will play third seed and last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalist Emma Navarro in the second round.
“I’ll try to at least enjoy it a little bit,” she said. “It was a great energy that I put in, the hard work and for sure we’re going to prepare ourselves but she’s (Navarro) a great player.
“She’s been playing very well since last season and I’ve known her for a few years. It’ll be a great match, hopefully you can enjoy a bit more tennis and I’ll give 100% and let’s see what happens.”
It took a while for the Brazilian to settle in to her new surroundings on a court she’s never played on before and she was unable to capitalise on any of her four break points in the opening set.
Kvitova has won six WTA title on grass in her career and looked set to make a winning return in her first match back on the surface for two years. However, the Czech star struggled on serve throughout the second set – hitting four doubles faults and wining just three of nine points on her second serve.
Haddad Maia took full advantage with a break to see out the second set and then immediately broke at the start of the third to wrestle momentum away from the two-time major winner.
After saving three break points on her opening service game of the set, the Brazilian lost just five points on serve the rest of the way.
This was the third meeting between Haddad Maia and Kvitova and on both occasions the winner has gone on to win the tournament.
Our event partners
Official broadcast partners
Official tour partners
