Emerson Jones has fallen just short in her quest to become the first Aussie in almost three decades to win an Australian Open girls' singles title.
The 15-year-old from the Gold Coast made a promising start in today's final at Rod Laver Arena, racing to a 4-1 lead within 13 minutes against Slovakia's Renata Jamrichova.
However, the top-seeded Jamrichova came roaring back to record a 6-4 6-1 victory.
Although Jones was disappointed, she described it as "a great experience".
"Thank you to everyone that supported me throughout the week, I wasn't expecting to get here," Jones said.
"It was been an amazing experience with the crowds and everything."
Jones was aiming to become just the fifth Aussie in the past 30 years to win a Grand Slam girls' singles title and the first to do at the Australian Open since Siobhan Drake-Brockman in 1995.
| Grand Slam girls' singlesAussies champions in the past 30 years | |
| Player | Event |
| Trudi Musgrave | Australian Open 1994 |
| Siobhan Drake-Brockman | Australian Open 1995 |
| Jelena Dokic | US Open 1998 |
| Ash Barty | Wimbledon 2011 |
Jones trains at the National Tennis Academy in Brisbane, where she works closely with esteemed Australian coach David Taylor.
Currently No.8 in the ITF junior rankings and sitting at No.797 in the WTA Tour rankings, Jones plans to play a mixture of junior and professional events throughout 2024.
The talented teen names improving her WTA ranking and performing strongly at the junior Grand Slams as her biggest 2024 goals.
Jones' older brother, 17-year-old Hayden, is also one of Australia's leading juniors and progressed to the quarterfinals in the Australian Open 2024 boys' singles competition.
Aussies in action - Australian Open
TODAY'S RESULTS
Girls' singles, final
[1] Renata Jamrichova (SVK) d [6] Emerson Jones (AUS) 6-4 6-1
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