The tennis world got their first opportunity to witness highly touted youngster Emerson Jones on the big stage this summer, with the 16-year-old showing she has a bright future ahead.
After being born and raised on the Gold Coast, Jones’ tennis talent was obvious from the moment she first stepped on the court. Coming from a prodigiously talented sporting family, her mother Loretta, an Olympic silver medallist in the triathlon, and her father, a gifted Australian Rules player who trialled with the Brisbane Bears back in 1994, inspired Jones to follow in their footsteps towards elite sport.
After turning just 13, Jones played her first International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior tournament, winning several matches in her hometown of the Gold Coast, proving to everyone that a strong future in the sport would follow.
Fast forward a few years, and her name is on every tennis fans' lips, after recently becoming the first Australian world No.1 junior since Jelena Dokic back in 1998.
She made the final of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon juniors in 2024, while also gaining traction after beating the Chinese world No.37 Xinyu Wang on WTA debut at the Adelaide International.
While she would go on to be convincingly beaten in her Australian Open main draw debut to 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, Jones had already won plenty of fans over since joining the WTA Tour.
With only two Australian female players in the top-100 in Kimberly Birrell (No.76) and Olivia Gadecki (No.94), the Australian public will be hoping Jones can soon follow suit, among more experienced players like Ajla Tomljanović and Daria Saville.
Jones is Australia's most exciting prospect on the women’s side of the draw since Ash Barty, having reached great heights already in her young career. That potential has her drawing comparisons to the three-time major champion. In a recent interview, Barty herself heaped praise on the youngster, highlighting her professionalism and skill.
"She’s got the potential. Probably one of the best young players that we’ve seen in quite an extended period," Barty said.
"I think what you also see is a professionalism already, the drive and the determination to see what’s possible."
Although she believes that Jones has an exciting future ahead, Barty refuses to compare the two and the trajectory of their careers.
"She’s very much at the start of her career; she’s so young. She certainly won’t be the next me; she’ll be the first Emerson, which is really exciting," Barty said.
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If you delve into Barty and Jones’ career journeys, it makes for very interesting reading. Both players started playing ITF and junior tournaments at the age of 13, with Jones having reached the top as a junior, while Barty reached a high of world No.2 in the girls' junior rankings.
Despite Barty making her WTA debut at only 14 years of age and Emerson Jones at 16, both players' careers are quite parallel, and it’s difficult not to compare the two.
The Queenslander is currently ranked 268th in the world, with that ranking rapidly improving, and while she has faced some tough moments in her young professional career, Barty knows this will hold her in good stead.
"It was a tough initiation for her on the tour the last few weeks. But all experiences that she’ll be able to learn from," Barty said.
"I remember my first experiences, similar ones. They weren’t the most glorious on the tennis court, but they were really important lessons that I was able to learn from."
Former Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur also spoke glowingly of the young gun, suggesting she can compete with the very best players moving forward.
"She’s a really good competitor. She moves well; she’s not afraid to go for it and play aggressive. She’s not very big in stature, but she can hit a big ball. She can match it with anybody out there, pretty much."
Jones' bubbly nature and dogged determination make it easy for the Australian public to get behind her. The Aussies love a fighter and those with the will to keep competing, and if you blend all of that with raw talent, something special beckons on the horizon for the teenager.
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