Melbourne, Australia, 9 January 2025 | Jackson Mansell
Emerson Jones will face a baptism of fire in her Grand Slam debut. The 16-year-old has been pitted against Australian Open 2023 finalist Elena Rybakina.
Jones, 16, has been in stellar form of late, reaching the second round of the Adelaide International this week, where she prevailed over world No.37 Wang Xinyu 6-4 6-0. The junior world No.1 will seek to bring that form into her match against the sixth-seeded Rybakina, who pushed Aryna Sabalenka to three superb-quality sets at Australian Open 2023.
Amid a career-best run at a WTA 250 event in Hobart, 18-year-old Maya Joint also faces the difficult task of facing a top 10 seed. The youngster has been drawn against world No.7 Jessica Pegula – her second-consecutive match against an American at a major.
At the US Open last year, 135th-ranked Joint fell to world No.14 Madison Keys.
> READ MORE: Maya Joint on a high in Hobart
In other draw highlights, a rematch of last year’s first-round marathon between Daria Saville and Magdalena Frech could be on the cards, should they both win their first-round encounters.
Saville, who made consecutive fourth-round runs at the Australian Open in 2016 and 2017, plays world No.75 Anna Blinkova in her opening 2025 assignment.
| Australian Open 2025 Women’s singles, first round |
||||
| Player | Rank | Player | Rank | |
| Olivia Gadecki (AUS) | 106 | v | Veronika Kudermetova | 77 |
| [WC] Daria Saville (AUS) | 112 | v | Anna Blinkova | 75 |
| [WC] Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS) | 116 | v | Ashlyn Krueger (USA) | 54 |
| [WC] Maya Joint (AUS) | 118 | v | [7] Jessica Pegula (USA) | 7 |
| [WC] Talia Gibson (AUS) | 150 | v | Zeynep Sonmez (TUR) | 93 |
| [WC] Emerson Jones (AUS) | 370 | v | [6] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) | 6 |
| [Q] Kimberly Birrell (AUS) | 99 | v | TBC | |
| [Q] Destanee Aiava (AUS) | 165 | v | TBC | |
> VIEW: Australian Open 2025 women’s singles draw
Destanee Aiava and Kimberly Birrell both await their fate after booking their place in the Australian Open main draw.
The main draw begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday 12 January.
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!
