Emerson Jones remembers playing โ and losing to โ a then-16-year-old Maya Joint in practice sets at Tennis Australiaโs national academy in Brisbane about three years ago.
It was a shock to the system for Jones, who knew little at the time of Joint, a Michigan-born emerging talent who had just switched allegiances from the United States to Australia thanks to her Melbourne-born father.
Emerson Jones in action at the Brisbane International.Credit: Getty Images
Jones was only 14, but a higher-ranked junior than Joint back then and already the โitโ player in Australian tennis circles, tagged as a significant part of the solution in the post-Ash Barty era. Getting used to those new challenges, and challengers, is all part of the journey Jones is embarking upon.
โWe didnโt know who Maya was,โ Jones told this masthead. โI played a couple of practice sets with her, and she beat me. I was like, โWhy am I losing?โ โ but now it makes sense. Sheโs really good.โ
Joint is 19 now, Australiaโs top-ranked womenโs player, and set to be seeded for the first time at this monthโs Australian Open. Jones, who does not turn 18 until July, is making exciting strides of her own.
Together, they could put Australian womenโs tennis on the map for the next decade or more, alongside fellow young guns Talia Gibson and Taylah Preston, and the slightly older Olivia Gadecki.
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