Two years ago, Australian former US Open champion Sam Stosur was having a hit with an emerging talent on the tennis scene, Queensland teenager Emerson Jones, and was immediately impressed with the way she moved.

“I was really surprised how well and how hard she hit it, at that stage only 14 years old,” Stosur told ABC Sport.

“She just competes and goes for it. And [can] hit some great shots on the move and try and dictate play.”

Now 16, Jones has risen to world number one in junior girls’ rankings after an impressive 2024 season — the first Aussie to achieve the feat since Jelena Dokic in 1998 — and will enter this year’s Australian Open as a wildcard, her first grand slam.

She’s already pulled off a stunning upset this year, beating world number 37 Wang Xin from China in straight sets in the opening round of the Adelaide International.

On WTA main draw debut, Jones downed the Chinese star in 71 minutes, 6-4, 6-0. She is ranked world number 373 and it was her first match against a top-50 player.

Afterwards, she said she was “pretty surprised” and “pretty shocked” — like a lot of onlookers of the seniors’ circuit who she now firmly has the attention of.

“I didn’t think I’d even get a wildcard for this tournament, so winning a round is pretty special … The message [from her team] was no pressure, go out and play my best because I wasn’t expected to win,” Jones said.

Jones is the daughter of Olympic triathlon silver medallist Loretta Harrop and is coached by Dave Taylor, who guided Stosur to her maiden grand slam title in 2011.

At junior level last year, Jones made the finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon and took out the ITF W75 Sydney title in October.

Stosur said she expected Jones to similarly come out at the Open and “play with no fear and enjoy the moment”.

“She’s a really good competitor. She moves really well [and] she’s not afraid to go for it and play aggressive,” Stosur said.

Last year, Jones exited the Australian Open qualifying in the first round and finished runner-up in the Australian Open girls’ final to Renáta Jamrichová.

While by Jones’s own admission she has grown a lot since then, particularly mentally on court, Stosur is wary of the step-up of a grand slam when it comes to expectations placed on the teen.

“She’s had experiences on the big courts, on these grounds, and playing at home, but obviously playing your first grand slam is a very different prospect in the senior [draw],” Stosur said.

“And obviously, depending on what the draw looks like and everything else … but I’m really excited to watch her play and I know she’s going to give it everything she’s got. She’s really excited for the opportunity and what a chance to be able to do it at 16.”

Comparisons inevitably are being made between the rising star’s junior achievements and those of former world number one Ash Barty, who won three grand slams, including the Australian Open in 2022.

“I find it really exciting that people say ‘she did this and that’ and I am following in her footsteps,” Jones said.

“But I just think we’re all on our different journeys and I just want to see how I go. Obviously, Ash Barty was amazing, so it would be very hard to keep up with that.”

Jones will find out who she’s first up against in the Open when the main draw comes out on Thursday night.