The promising build-up to the Australian Open for the exciting young local crop of women’s stars continues with Maya Joint winning through to her first WTA quarter-final.

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Joint smashed No.4 seed and former Australian Open semi-finalist Magda Linette 6-1 6-1 at the Hobart International on Wednesday, booking a spot in the last eight where she’ll face former Melbourne Park champion Sofia Kenin.

The win over Linette was Joint’s first over a top-50 player, though her first-round win over world No.53 Olga Danilovic came close.

Joint, 18, was raised in the USA near Detroit but chose to represent her dad’s country of Australia a couple of years ago.

She flew up the rankings in 2024, going from No.684 at the start of the year to a current live ranking of No.110, making her the No.3 Aussie woman behind Kim Birrell and Olivia Gadecki.

Last week in Brisbane she made the second round, taking a set off former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka.

Joint won her first grand slam match late last year at the US Open and gave up her college scholarship to turn pro, after having to choose between her slam prize money and retaining her college eligibility.

She has a wildcard into the main draw of this year’s Australian Open.

BARTY URGES PATIENCE ON 16YO

– Ed Bourke, Newswire

Former world No. 1 Ash Barty has urged teen sensation Emerson Jones to enjoy her first Australian Open without the pressure of expectation as comparisons are drawn between the duo.

Jones, 16, caused a stir in her senior WTA singles debut at the Adelaide International as she emphatically beat Chinese world no. 37 Xinyu Wang 6-4, 6-0 to advance to the round of 16.

It set up a bout with world No. 9 Daria Kasatkina tonight and fuelled further comparisons to Barty, another former teen prodigy who went on to win three grand slam titles.

“(The extra attention) is certainly a different beast, and I think getting to know ‘Emmo’ a lot more over the last couple of years, she’s a very driven person – she’s passionate, she wants to do well, she’s focused, she’s professional,” Barty said.

“I really do think that this Australian summer is almost the perfect opportunity for her to soak it all in and enjoy it without that pressure.

“She’ll want to do well, and she’ll want to play her best tennis, but I think it’s about giving herself the opportunity to embrace it all, and soak it all in.”

Barty warned against dubbing the fellow Queenslander “the next Ash Barty” as she remained “very much in the infancy” of her tennis career.

“I think it’s ‘be the best Emerson Jones that you can be’. Her game has a lot of developing to do, she’s only a young teenager,” Barty said.

“Her whole life is ahead of her, her whole career is ahead … I’m excited for her, and I hope she’s able to come out at this Australian Open and play with a smile on her face and play with freedom, because that’s when she plays her best tennis.

“Fingers crossed she can have a really positive experience regardless of the result.”

Jones, whose older brother Hayden was knocked out in the first round of Australian Open qualifying on Tuesday, won a main draw wildcard for the tournament after becoming the first Australian junior girl to reach No. 1 in the world rankings since Jelena Dokic in 1998.

She also received a wildcard to play in Adelaide, where she repaid the faith with a resounding first-round victory.

”I didn’t think I’d even get a wildcard for this tournament, so winning a round is pretty special,” Jones said after the win over Wang.

“The message was no pressure, go out and play my best, because I wasn’t expected to win.

“Sometimes I get a bit ahead of myself, so today I was trying to focus on each point and not get ahead of myself.

“It’s exciting to be compared to Ash Barty and to know she’s done all of this. I just think we’re all on our different journeys … I just want to see how I go and focus on myself.”

LATEST FROM QUALIFYING

After 10 Aussies made it into the second of three qualifying rounds, all eyes are on which locals can make it to the deciding matches on Thursday and Friday.

Maddison Inglis has already pulled a solid upset, coming back to beat No.5 seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 4-6 6-3 6-3.

Meanwhile Taylah Preston took the opening set over No.3 seed Harriet Dart but was well beaten from there, 6-7(7) 6-1 6-2, while Dane Sweeny fell to No.17 seed Jaime Faria, 6-2 6-2.