Kimberly Birrell's position as Australia's top-ranked singles female could be under threat following Maya Joint's rise to inside the top-100.
Joint, 18, took down Austria's Julia Grabher 6-3 6-2, setting up a round of 16 showdown against Olympic silver medalist and Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekić.
Mexico's Merida Open is classified as a WTA 500 event, with Joint arriving unseeded, having dropped less than three games in her first three matches, including two rounds of qualifying.
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The American-born Aussie is now sitting at No.87 in the live WTA rankings thanks to rising 16 places from No.103.
As things stand, the rankings are provisional until the new rankings are released on Monday, but it would mean Joint will be the second-youngest player in the top-100 behind 17-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva.
With Olivia Gadecki currently ranked No.96, there could be three Australians in the women's top-100 for the first time since March 2022, the month Ash Barty retired.
Recently, Birrell has become the country's No.1 female player in the singles field after achieving a career-high No.75.
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