{"id":381692,"date":"2025-12-31T02:51:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/381692\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T02:51:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:51:11","slug":"tennis-news-2025-maya-joint-australian-no-1-ranked-female-ready-to-spearhead-united-cup-2026-australian-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/381692\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis news 2025: Maya Joint. Australian No.1-ranked female ready to spearhead United Cup, 2026 Australian Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, Maya Joint was the fresh-faced newcomer with a wildcard entry to the Australian Open<\/a> main draw. In 2026, she returns carrying the hopes of the nation.<\/p>\n

Last summer, Joint made her first appearance in the main draw at the Melbourne slam, facing a tough first-round match-up against then-world No.6 Jessica Pegula.<\/p>\n

Stepping onto John Cain Arena, Joint showed plenty of grit and hustle, but ultimately fell to the experienced American in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Aussie cricket legend Martyn in ‘fight of his life’ in hospital<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Off-contract Haas spotted in rival city over Christmas break<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Aussie legend Hayden takes aim at Test batting coach<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Maya<\/p>\n

Maya Joint celebrates with the Eastbourne Open trophy after a gritty three-set victory over Alexandra Eala.\u00a0Charlie Crowhurst via Getty Images for LTA<\/p>\n

In the 12 months since that defeat, Joint has enjoyed a meteoric rise, soaring from world No.119 at the start of 2025 to a year-end No.32.<\/p>\n

Now established as Australia’s top-ranked female singles player, Joint is perfectly positioned to secure a seeding at the 2026 Australian Open.<\/p>\n

Asked what the girl who faced Pegula last January would say to her now, the 19-year-old replied: “That I belong at this level, I’m the ranking that I am for a reason, and I just need to believe in myself and play my game”.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on her breakout 2025 season, Joint acknowledged that while she always aimed to be a top player, the reality of achieving the status so quickly was unbelievable.<\/p>\n

“It’s been a great year, a crazy year. I did not think at the beginning of the year that I would get this far,” she told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

“I mean, I worked really hard, and I had some really great tournaments and results, so it’s been crazy.”<\/p>\n

\"Tangerine<\/p>\n

Tangerine has announced a new partnership with Maya Joint, capitalising on the teen sensation’s rapid rise.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

Between the two summers, Joint made a technical and mental shift, transforming her serve into a weapon and building the tactical variety and resilience required to excel at the top level.<\/p>\n

“I’ve worked a lot on my serve, so I think it has gotten better for sure,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Then I’m trying to add some more variety into my game, feeling unpredictable, and then just working on my problem-solving skills and being able to come out just when I’m down.”<\/p>\n

The Aussie tennis summer kicks off with the 2026 United Cup from Friday, January 2. Watch it live and free on Nine and 9Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having lived the first 16 years of her life in Michigan, Joint moved to Brisbane as a dual citizen in mid-2023 to train at Tennis Australia’s national academy.<\/p>\n

Joint’s father, Michael, is a Melbourne-born former professional squash player. Her switch in allegiance to his home country has proved a pivotal turning point.<\/p>\n

“When I left, I didn’t realise that I’d be moving over here permanently straight away,” Joint said.<\/p>\n

\"Maya<\/p>\n

Maya Joint celebrates after defeating Laura Siegemund in her grand slam main-draw debut at the 2024 US Open.\u00a0Jamie Squire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

“It was definitely a bit scary in the beginning, just because it was so far away and I’d never been here before, but it’s been a nice decision.<\/p>\n

“Australia is amazing.<\/p>\n

“All the people here are wonderful, and I wouldn’t have made it to where I am without moving here.<\/p>\n

“I just improved so much when I got here.<\/p>\n

“I got proper training. I got a gym program. I got a nutritionist and a mental coach \u2014 just everything that I didn’t really have.<\/p>\n

“So, when I got all of it at once, it kind of just skyrocketed my game.”<\/p>\n

Driven by a desire for greater opportunity, Joint feels the US Tennis Federation did not provide her with the specialised, centralised support she found at Tennis Australia.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t really have access to any of that in the US,” Joint said.<\/p>\n

\"Maya<\/p>\n

Maya Joint at the Brisbane International.\u00a0Glenn Hunt\/ The Age<\/p>\n

“I had a coach, but she lived pretty far away, so we’d only go maybe once a week, and then there wasn’t anyone to hit with, so it was getting pretty difficult in the last year.\u00a0I was just hitting with my mum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“So, when I finally got people to train with, it was insanely helpful.”<\/p>\n

Asked how the governing body might view her success, Joint is modest.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know. I think, I hope they’d be happy for me, that I figured out a way to get here,” she said.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to the Australian summer of tennis<\/a>, Joint reveals she has had a great pre-season, is playing well and is ready to spearhead the home charge.<\/p>\n

First up, Joint will make her tournament debut at the United Cup<\/a>, beginning Friday.<\/p>\n

“I’m really excited, it’s my first time playing that event, so there is definitely going to be some nerves involved with that,” Joint said.<\/p>\n

“But I think it’ll be pretty similar to Billie Jean King Cup, just with having a team around you, but it’s also gonna be different because it’s mixed. It’s going to be fun.”<\/p>\n

\"Australia's<\/p>\n

Australia’s Maya Joint fires a backhand against Colombia’s Yuliana Monroy during the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup.\u00a0Andy Cheung via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In November, Joint played a starring role for the Australian team in their Billie Jean King Cup play-off ties against Brazil and Portugal in Hobart, securing the nation’s place in the 2026 qualifiers.<\/p>\n

In a dramatic group decider against Brazil’s Laura Pigossi, the teen fended off a match point while trailing 3-5 in the second set.<\/p>\n

Following a lengthy rain delay \u2014 and spurred on by the vocal home crowd \u2014 Joint found a new gear, winning nine of the final ten games to seal the victory.<\/p>\n

“When I was playing BJK Cup, it got pretty loud in the last match,” Joint said of playing in front of passionate Australian fans.<\/p>\n

“I need to work on framing my mindset to think that that’s a good thing, even when it’s the other team cheering, that it’s just the atmosphere, and it’s fun to play in.<\/p>\n

“It’s just a very different feeling than when you’re just playing by yourself, so it’s good to get the experience.”<\/p>\n

At the time, Australian captain Nicole Pratt praised Joint’s “battling qualities”, noting that her ability to handle high-stakes moments is a testament to why she has earned the national No.1 ranking.<\/p>\n

Joint candidly admits that thriving under pressure remains a work in progress.<\/p>\n

“I feel more eyes on me when I play, but I’ve worked hard to get to this point, and I just need to take advantage of it,” Joint said, who recently bolstered her off-court portfolio with a new partnership with internet and mobile data provider Tangerine.<\/p>\n

Joint is set to represent Australia in the United Cup alongside top-ranked Aussie man Alex de Minaur<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For the first time in over three years, Team Australia will enter the mixed team event with top-32 stars spearheading both the men’s and women’s sides \u2014 a feat not seen since the retirement of Ash Barty.<\/p>\n

While Joint is no stranger to playing doubles with new faces, she confesses that she is still getting to know de Minaur.<\/p>\n

“We’ve talked, we walked together, and he said, ‘Hi’. He’s always been super nice, and he’s a great player,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We have a really good team, so I think we can do pretty well.<\/p>\n

“We’re both pretty fast and try to rely on our speed, so I think we can make for a pretty entertaining pairing.”<\/p>\n

Joint is scheduled to face former world No.2 Barbora Krejcikova in Australia’s tie against Czechia at Ken Rosewall Arena on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Raducanu shakes hands with Maya Joint following their second-round clash at the Lexus Eastbourne Open.\u00a0Charlie Crowhurst via Getty Images for LTA<\/p>\n

The clash will serve as a final dress rehearsal, testing Joint’s mettle against a two-time grand slam champion just days before the year’s first major.<\/p>\n

Joint has embraced the Australian way of adopting an affectionate nickname, penning ‘Ginger Ninja’.<\/p>\n

“I put it on my Instagram bio, so I do get a lot of support under that name,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t know that would happen, I just thought it sounded cool and why not?<\/p>\n

“The support’s been amazing, especially from the Aussie fans, they’ve really embraced me, which I didn’t know what was going to happen at first.”<\/p>\n

Now settled in Brisbane, Joint credits her Melbourne-based family for providing an extended support system that makes her home slam extra special.<\/p>\n

Despite her American upbringing, Joint describes returning to the Australian Open as a true homecoming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A year ago, Maya Joint was the fresh-faced newcomer with a wildcard entry to the Australian Open main…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381693,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":["post-381692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}