Gutsy 16-year-old Aussie Emerson Jones defeated by grand slam champion
ABCSixteen-year-old Emerson Jones was looking promising heading into her first grand slam main draw. The teenager from Queensland rose to world number one in the junior girls' rankings after an impressive 2024 season — the first Aussie to achieve the feat since Jelena Dokic in 1998 — which earned her a wildcard to this year's Australian Open. Then the draw came out and Jones was paired with grand slam champion and top-10 player Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in the first round. 'Always tough to not know who you're going to play' Meanwhile, Kim Birrell's Australian Open campaign was over in a flash, with the Australian qualifier going down to lucky loser Eva Lys from Germany 6-2, 6-2 in just 70 minutes. Birrell's original opponent was 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya, who was a late out and replaced by Lys, who was beaten by fellow Aussie Destanee Aiava in round three of qualifying last week.
History of this topic
Aussie teen wildcard Emerson Jones is already causing upsets
ABC
Elena Rybakina highlights key to Australian Open run to semi-finals
The Independent
Emma Raducanu thumped in opening Australian Open warm-up
The IndependentDiscover Related
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