Ross qualified as a junior elite gymnast at the Metroplex Challenge in February. In April, she competed at the American Classic in San Diego, California. She placed second in the all-around with a score of 55.316. In July, at the CoverGirl Classic in Des Moines, Iowa, she placed first in the all-around with a score of 57.000, handily beating future Olympic teammates Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney. She also placed first on vault with a score of 15.200, fifth on balance beam with a score of 13.950, and fifth on floor with a score of 14.250. In August, she competed at the Visa Championships in Dallas, Texas. She said, "It's a dream come true to compete in the Visas. I've watched it since I was 7." In only her second elite meet, she placed first in the all-around with a two-day combined score of 114.000, beating former junior national team member Bridgette Caquatto by more than half a point. She earned two event titles as well: She placed first on vault, performing a double-twisting Yurchenko and scoring 30.350 over two days, and first on balance beam with a combined score of 29.00. She also won the bronze medal on floor exercise, where she performed to the theme song from "Rawhide" and earned a two-day total of 28.200. At the Junior Pan American Championships in Aracaju, Brazil, in November, she and teammates Caquatto, Raisman, and Sabrina Vega beat the second-place Canadian team by almost 15 points. Ross also placed first in the all-around with a score of 57.400, beating Vega by more than a point. In the event finals, she placed first on uneven bars (14.150), first on balance beam (15.000), and second on floor (13.800) behind Raisman. In March, Ross competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy, where she placed second in the all-around (56.700) behind Anastasia Grishina of Russia. The following month, she competed at the 2010 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne, Australia. The team, which included junior gymnasts Ross and Jordyn Wieber and senior gymnasts Raisman and Rebecca Bross, won the gold medal, beating China by more than 15 points. Individually, Ross placed second behind Wieber in the all-around with a total score of 58.000.