Australian tennis player (born 2008)
Emerson Jones (born 7 July 2008) is an Australian tennis player. She has a career high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 1, achieved on 9 September 2024, becoming the first Australian junior to reach the top spot since Jelena Dokic in 1998.
Early life.
Jones was born and raised on the Gold Coast, Queensland, where she attended Coomera Anglican College. Her mother, Loretta Harrop, is an Olympic silver medallist triathlete and her father, Brad Jones, is a former Australian rules footballer who won the 1999 Grogan Medal in the Queensland State League, and narrowly missed out on a professional AFL career when he trialled with the Brisbane Bears in 1994. Her brother, Hayden, is also a prodigious tennis player ranked inside the top 10 of the ITF juniors.
Junior career.
Jones began playing ITF junior tournaments in August 2021 a few weeks after her 13th birthday when she was given a wildcard entry into a J5 tournament in her hometown of the Gold Coast in August 2021. She recorded several wins and reached the quarterfinals in her first ITF junior tournament.
Jones made her junior Grand Slam debut at 13 years of age at the 2022 Australian Open when she was given a main draw wildcard and defeated Cara Korhonen 6-0 6–1 in the first round before being eliminated in the second round. In August 2022 she won her first junior ITF tournament at the JB2 Sydney event and followed it up with a second title the following week at the J2 Sydney tournament. Her 2023 season included appearance in all four junior Grand Slam tournaments as well as two J300 and one J500 titles in the United States, Korea and Japan which allowed her to rise up the rankings and claim a top 10 spot leading into 2024.
She entered the 2024 season ranked inside the top 10 and started her season well by winning the J300 Traralgon tournament. The following week she entered the Australian Open as the sixth seed and reached her first junior Grand Slam final at 15 years of age. She was defeated by Renáta Jamrichová in the final.
On 27 May 2024, Jones reached a career-high ITF junior combined ranking of No. 2, becoming the highest ranked Australian junior since Ashleigh Barty in 2011.
At the 2024 French Open, Jones was upset in the first round by qualifier Daria Shadchneva.
Professional career.
2023–24: Professional and WTA Tour debut.
At the age of 14, Jones began her professional career when she received a wildcard into the qualifying draw of the Hobart International in January 2023, but lost in the first round to Tereza Martincová. She qualified for her first professional tournament the following month at the ITF $25,000 event in Swan Hill. In July 2023, she reached her first ITF final at the $15,000 event in Caloundra, but lost to third seed Melisa Ercan.
In October 2023, she qualified for the main draw of the City of Playford Tennis International, where she defeated Gabriella Da Silva-Fick in the first round before losing to Seone Mendez in the second. The following month, she received a wildcard into the main draw of the Gold Coast Tennis International, and reached the second round with an early retirement by Darya Astakhova.
Jones began her 2024 season with a wildcard into the main draw of the Canberra Tennis International, where she lost in the first round to sixth seed Wang Yafan. She received a wildcard into the qualifying draw of the Australian Open, but lost in the first round to Priscilla Hon. The following month, she received a wildcard into the main draw of the Burnie International II, where she defeated Tina Nadine Smith in the first round before losing to fifth seed Wei Sijia in the second. In March 2024, she reached her second ITF final at the $35,000 event in Swan Hill, but lost to Gabriella Da Silva-Fick. Still only 16, Jones won her biggest title to date in November 2024, claiming the W75 NSW Perpetual Open by defeating fellow Australian teenager Taylah Preston, ranked 162 at the time, 6-4, 7-6 in the final.
2025: First WTA win, top 300 and Grand Slam debut.
Jones started the 2025 season by entering the Canberra International and was defeated in the first round by Elsa Jacquemot in straight sets. A week later, she was handed a wildcard entry into the Adelaide International and caused a major upset in the first round by defeating the world number 37 Wang Xinyu in the first round. The win marked Jones' first victory in a top-level WTA Tour event and secured her a career high top 300 ranking. Aged 16, Jones made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the Australian Open, after being given a wildcard into main draw. She lost in the first round to sixth seed Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
References.
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