“I had never met her on court before, but I knew it would be tough. Especially in the second set, she played amazingly; she was just going full throttle. She’s really strong; she made me adjust a few things, and I had to work really hard to win.”<\/p>\n
Did you choose the Prague Open for a reason? Or did someone recommend it to you?<\/p>\n
“After Wimbledon, I wanted to get back on hard courts and also stay in Europe a bit longer. I\u2019d never been here before, and I love discovering new places. Everyone I asked told me Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. So I thought: ‘Well, I have to go see it for myself’. And yes, they were right!”<\/p>\n
A few weeks ago, you had the honour of playing against Serena Williams<\/a> on her comeback. Looking back, what would you say about that match today?<\/p>\n “I think the match against Serena<\/a> really helped me. Specifically, it definitely boosted my confidence. Every player probably goes through this at some point in their career, but I really had a tough start to the year and quite a long losing streak. And then this challenge came along\u2026 In the end, I beat her. And that match helped me believe I could start winning again.”<\/p>\n And aside from the result? What emotions did you feel when you stepped onto Centre Court at Wimbledon against such an icon?<\/p>\n “It was such a surreal experience! What can I say\u2026? But I think it was right there that I proved to myself I could play at a high level again.”<\/p>\n It’s a bit different here in Prague. You started on a small court by the Vltava River, in the shadow of the huge arena. How big of a difference is that?<\/p>\n “Oh, I didn\u2019t mind at all. At a lot of tournaments, you don\u2019t find huge arenas. So it was actually nice not to have so much attention around one match. And at the same time, there were plenty of people in the stands, so the atmosphere was great. I really enjoyed it. But you\u2019re right, the main arena here is really huge.”<\/p>\n But let\u2019s go back to your story. Were you close to tennis from a young age? It\u2019s known your father was a top squash player…<\/p>\n “I guess so. Both my parents played racquet sports growing up. And my dad was a professional squash player, so I think I inherited a bit of talent from him. But honestly, I don\u2019t know how I\u2019d do in a squash box. I\u2019ve actually never played it. (laughs)”<\/p>\n You started with tennis at university, but that also limited you. When you reached the second round at the 2024 US Open, as a student on a scholarship, you couldn\u2019t receive the $150,000 prize money. How did that end up? Did you ever get it?<\/p>\n “No, not at all. I never got that money\u2026”<\/p>\n So is that why you left your studies and started playing tennis professionally?<\/p>\n “You know, I always wanted to go to university, but actually I studied online the whole time. I never physically went to school. It might sound a bit silly, but I really wanted to experience going to class, being among people who want to learn, carrying books to the classroom. But then there came a point when I realised my tennis was at a level where I should focus on it professionally.”<\/p>\n Do you regret that?<\/p>\n “No, I found another way. Thanks to the WTA, I\u2019m still studying at university online; there\u2019s a program for that. I chose criminal law, and it\u2019s very interesting. I wanted to dive into something I\u2019d enjoy and wouldn\u2019t feel bored by.”<\/p>\n You\u2019re from Michigan, USA, originally.\u00a0Kimberly Birell<\/a> was born in Dusseldorf, Daria Kasatkina<\/a> in Russia, and Ajla Tomljanovic<\/a> is originally Croatian. Each of you is from a different part of the world – what\u2019s it like representing Australia all together?<\/p>\n “Oh, absolutely! Our Australian team is super special. It\u2019s like another family to me, really! It\u2019s a close group of friends. We spend time together, go out for dinner. Every time we play, I enjoy it. I actually love the team atmosphere; I think it\u2019s the best in the world (laughs).<\/p>\n “And even when we\u2019re not playing Billie Jean King Cup matches, I stay in touch with the girls. We have a group chat on WhatsApp, and we always message each other after matches.”<\/p>\n Today you\u2019re playing at a venue connected to the Billie Jean King Cup… For Czechs, Stvanice, the home of the Prague Open, is an iconic place. 40 years ago, at the then Federation Cup, emigrant Martina Navratilova<\/a> appeared here for the first time in a long while since her defection to the USA. Have you heard her story?<\/p>\n “Honestly, I have to admit I haven\u2019t heard about it. But maybe it\u2019s time to learn something new\u2026”<\/p>\n No Australian woman has won the tournament in Prague yet, but Tomljanovic and Samantha Stosur<\/a> both finished as runners-up in recent years…<\/p>\n “Today I walked past the wall where Czech successes are documented, and it was nice to see a few Australians among the Czech names. So we\u2019ll see what happens this week!”<\/p>\n![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3a0d515e-2b1e-4d30-b5e6-7d662bf51a1b.jpg\" "\\"Maya")
Maya Joint and Serena Williams after their match at Wimbledon\u010cTK \/ AP \/ Kentaro Tominaga<\/p>\n![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/332bf250-0cee-4f02-a070-4bdafc996764.jpg\" "\\"Maya")
Maya Joint at the Livesport Prague Open\u010cTK \/ Pavel Lebeda<\/p>\n![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/a2e064ff-1919-4d48-8714-c220ccd09235.jpg\" "\\"Maya")
Maya Joint with the Australian team at the BJK Cup in HobartWilliam WEST \/ AFP \/ AFP \/ Profimedia<\/p>\n