Emerson Jones and Tahlia Kokkinis advance to the girls’ singles quarterfinals at AO 2025, becoming the first Aussie pair to do so at a Grand Slam since 2016.
Melbourne, Australia, 22 January 2025 | Jackson Mansell
Emerson Jones and Tahlia Kokkinis have broken a nine-year drought after their third-round victories at Australian Open 2025 on Wednesday.
They are the first Australian pair to advance to the girls’ singles quarterfinals at a major since Baijing Lin and Sara Tomic at Australian Open 2016.
Jones wasted no time returning to the quarterfinals as she prevailed over Yuliya Perapekhina in 53 minutes. The junior world No.1 attacked Perapekhina’s serve in the 6-3 6-2 victory, more than doubling the southpaw’s receiving points.
Gliding through yet again 🪂
Emerson Jones progresses to the #AO2025 junior girls’ quarterfinals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Yuliya Perapekhina. pic.twitter.com/LZyXp0ppjC
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 22, 2025
“I think that if I just play my own game and basically [play] at that level, I think it gives me a lot of confidence,” Jones said on how she is tackling Australian Open 2025, which follows a runner-up performance in the 2024 final.
“I don’t really think about the [Australian Open 2024] final or winning this tournament, I just want to win every match I play.
> READ: Emerson Jones continues Australian Open 2025 charge
“I don’t think about winning the whole tournament, I just wanna win [against] whoever is in front of me.”
Tahlia Kokkinis has continued her breakout run at AO 2025 after coming from a set down to defeat British qualifier Brooke Black.
After a tight first set where Black broke in the final game to take the set 7-5, a more attacking Kokkinis resoundingly gained dominance. The 16-year-old only dropped three more points off her first serve to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/status/1881887767749341481
“It honestly feels amazing, Kokkinis said. “I loved the crowd getting behind me again, and I feel like every time I have a match, I have this inner belief and knowing that this crowd’s always gonna be with me.”
> READ: Home crowd helps Kokkinis progress
“After that first set, instead of being sad and down in myself, it’s all about the attitude and how you interpret the situation, and I think I was really motivated. I just wanted to go out there and have a real rip and go for my shots in the second set, and I think I broke her straightaway. That gave me confidence like, ‘okay, I’m gonna continue this game style’, this game plan of being aggressive and attacking, and I sort of just had the momentum.”
The girls’ world No.117 will play world No.7 Wakana Sonobe on Thursday for a spot in the semifinals.
> VIEW: Australian Open 2025 girls’ singles draw
Aussies in action – Australian Open
TODAY’S RESULTS
Girls’ singles, third round
[1] Emerson Jones (AUS) v [Q] Yuliya Perapekhina 6-3 6-2
[WC] Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS) d [Q] Brooke Black (GBR) 5-7 6-1 6-3
COMING UP
Girls’ singles, quarterfinals
[1] Emerson Jones (AUS) v Lilli Tagger (AUT)
[WC] Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS) v [4] Wakana Sonobe (JPN)
Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to hit the court and have some fun!
