Sam Stosur is thrilled by the shape she’s seen from Australia’s girls in the course of the Summer season of Tennis, pleasure shared by Nicole Pratt and Jelena Dokic.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 12 January 2025 | Matt Trollope
There have been no scarcity of terrific storylines that includes Australian girls in the course of the Summer season of Tennis.
Kim Birrell was only a level away from the Brisbane Worldwide semifinals, and returned to the highest 100, earlier than qualifying for the Australian Open.
Destanee Aiava additionally certified for the 12 months’s first Grand Slam occasion, boosting the variety of Aussie girls within the AO fundamental draw to eight.
https://twitter.com/AustralianOpen/standing/1877256414541832307
Talia Gibson and Maya Joint pushed far-more-experienced opponents (Maria Bouzkova and Victoria Azarenka respectively) to the restrict of their Brisbane main-draw debuts, earlier than Joint powered into the Hobart Worldwide semifinals, beating AO 2020 champion Sofia Kenin alongside the best way.
On the Adelaide Worldwide, 16-year-old phenom Emerson Jones scored her first tour-level win, over Thirty seventh-ranked Wang Xinyu, no much less. She then gave top-10 star Daria Kasatkina lots to consider in a 7-5 6-3 loss.
MORE: Teenaged Aussies face difficult AO debuts
There seems to be a positivity and momentum round Australian girls’s tennis that hasn’t been seen in earlier years. And Sam Stosur agrees.
“I feel the truth that within the rankings they’re all like this shut [gesturing with hands],” mentioned Stosur, a former world No.4 who now serves as Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain.
“In order that they’re all vying to be, first, the most effective they are often, after which you’ll be able to’t inform me they don’t see one another having these outcomes and assume: ‘Oh properly, why can’t I do this? We practise on a regular basis collectively, and I simply beat her, and dangle on a second, if she’s doing it, I can do it.’
“And it’s implausible as a result of I feel you do try for extra if you’re in that scenario. If you happen to’ve acquired an [Australian] participant on the high, once more it makes it extra potential. We haven’t had somebody tremendous excessive within the rankings now since Ash [Barty] – I imply, Ajla [Tomljanovic] was there at 30, however clearly then her accidents and stuff.
“I feel success breeds success, and successful’s a behavior, and taking part in properly day-after-day’s a behavior. I feel that each one of these gamers are doing that, and seeing that they get rewarded for doing it.
“They’re all pushing one another alongside, which is superior.”
When Stosur talks in regards to the Aussie women being bunched intently within the rankings, she means it.
Whereas there are presently no girls inside the highest 100 – Birrell fell two locations this week, to No.101 – there are seven ranked between 100 and 150. Three of them – Birrell, Joint and Olivia Gadecki – are ranked between 101 and 106.
RELATED: Upbeat Birrell seems forward to Australian Open
They’re trending up, and all it takes is one large consequence from any of them, and all of the sudden, Australia’s top-100 presence might be remodeled.
Nicole Pratt, Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup coach, is as buoyed as Stosur with what she’s seen throughout January.
“I feel there’s an entire bunch of them which are simply outdoors the highest 100 … and I feel that breakthrough goes to return from Maya Joint,” Pratt declared.
Semifinalist standing ✅🔓 pic.twitter.com/gnZ4qTZh5i
— Hobart Worldwide (@HobartTennis) January 9, 2025
“We noticed week one Kim Birrell having a breakthrough, beating [top-10 player] Emma Navarro, that’s large, and acquired her again inside the highest 100 at 99. [She] simply certified [at AO], and her confidence is excessive.
“Maya reached the semifinals at Hobart and has an AO match-up in opposition to Jess Pegula, and it’s an attention-grabbing match-up. The explanation I say that’s as a result of if somebody asks me how Maya Joint performs, she performs a bit like Jess Pegula.
“It’s thrilling to see for ladies’s tennis that there’s a 16-year-old [in Jones] going on the market in Adelaide, taking part in her just about first ever WTA occasion fundamental draw and beating a top-40 participant on the earth. That’s large.”
One other former world No.4, Jelena Dokic, was commentating on the Brisbane Worldwide and was impressed by Birrell as she carved her approach by way of the draw, supported by Stosur from the stands.
Now in Melbourne the place she reached the Australian Open 2009 quarterfinals, Dokic mentioned she was excited to see what the Aussie girls might do on a good grander stage.
“How about Kim Birrell? I known as a pair matches in Brisbane, I really like how she performs, I really like her mentality and her angle round it,” Dokic mentioned.
“Emerson Jones, I can’t wait to see what she does; 16 years previous, junior world No.1, beats a high 50 participant in Adelaide.
THE FUTURE IS NOW ⭐
Emerson Jones scores a large breakthrough in her @AdelaideTennis debut in opposition to the world No.37!#GoAussieshttps://t.co/9ZsEfRjt2Y
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) January 6, 2025
“Taking a look at Australian tennis generally – unbelievable depth. I feel they’ve an incredible camaraderie as properly.
“I at all times like to see what ex-players can deliver to the desk like Sam and Lleyton [Hewitt on the men’s side]. I feel it’s a build-up of the final 5 to 10 years, the place you create this tradition and camaraderie. The place sure, we give attention to the summer time tennis in Australia, however additionally they help one another outdoors of that, as a result of it will probably get robust out on the tour.
“I feel we’ve a great system and that’s why we’ve acquired doubles and combined doubles Grand Slam champions, Olympic gold medallists, and we’re doing properly in singles as properly.”
On Monday at Melbourne Park, there are 12 Aussies in singles motion, together with 4 girls.
The stage is about for them to maintain their momentum going.
