Emerson Jones, a heavily decorated Australian junior, was granted a wild card into last week’s Adelaide International main draw.
Her first-round opponent, No.37-ranked Wang Xinyu, had already built an impressive resume, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the Wuhan 1000 semifinals, beating World No.3 Jessica Pegula along the way.
Jones -- at the age of 16 -- defeated Wang 6-4, 6-0.
She lost to No.3 seed Daria Kasatkina in the next round, yet managed to secure eight games. But now the 2024 Australian Open and Wimbledon junior finalist has a truly daunting task: facing No.6 seed Elena Rybakina on Tuesday in the first round of the Australian Open.
Rybakina wasn’t familiar with Jones’ game but caught a set of her against Kasatkina on television. It was enough to know what she’s up against.
“I think she’s a good player, dangerous player,” Rybakina said. “Especially when you’re young, you have nothing to lose. She’s at home.
“I definitely take it as a very tough opponent because you never know what to expect.”
That, of course, is the beauty of tennis. Day 3 features the matches remaining from the bottom half of the draw:
No.4 Jasmine Paolini vs. [Q] Wei Sijia
Head-to-head: 0-0.
How much has life changed for Paolini after reaching two Grand Slam singles finals and cracking the Top 5? Does she get recognized walking down the street in Italy, is it easier to get a restaurant reservation?
“Sometimes, yes,” Paolini said, smiling. “It’s nice to feel the love of the people. Yeah, especially in Italy now, tennis is growing a lot. People are a lot focused on tennis. It’s something great for us as players.”
Paolini went 2-1 in United Cup play, losing to Karolina Muchova. She’s tried to erase her meteoric 2024 season from her memory banks.
“I try to keep the expectation low because I think it’s not good for myself to put too much pressure on me,” Paolini said. “When I step on court, I’m enjoying playing. I’m more I think also focused and more calm, I think I can play better.”
The No.109-ranked Wei came through qualifying, defeating Nina Stojanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6[9] in the final round.
No.6 Elena Rybakina vs. [WC] Emerson Jones
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Rybakina was a force at the United Cup, propelling Kazakhstan into the semifinals with three singles wins. That’s where she ran into Iga Swiatek -- a tightly contested 7-6 (5), 6-4 defeat sent Poland into the final.
After a difficult year that featured injury and illness, Rybakina is placing her health as the leading priority.
“I definitely need to listen to my body more because no one will know how I feel, not even my team members,” Rybakina said. “Since I already have this issue of low immune system, I had other issues before, I need to make some decisions better towards the schedule. Hopefully I can make it better for the season.”
Her uncertain coaching situation might be a distraction, but Rybakina has an 11-5 record in Melbourne and reached the final here two years ago.
No.8 Emma Navarro vs. Peyton Stearns
Head-to-head: 4-1, Navarro, most recently last year in Bad Homburg, 6-4, 6-1.
Unlike so many of Tuesday’s matches, these two Americans have a history. So far, it’s usually been one-way traffic for Navarro.
She’s lost two of three matches so far in Australia, to Kimberly Birrell in Brisbane and, after defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova, 7-6(4), 6-4, lost to Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-4 in the Adelaide quarterfinals 6-4, 6-4.
Stearns, ranked No.47, is 3-2 this year, losing to Daria Kasatkina in Brisbane and Paula Badosa in Adelaide.
No.9 Daria Kasatkina vs. Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Her season began in Brisbane with a three-set win over Peyton Stearns, followed by a three-set loss to qualifier and eventual finalist Polina Kudermetova. The No.3 seed this week in Adelaide, Kasatkina defeated Olivia Gadecki 6-2, 6-3 in a first-round match.
“Feels good to play a two-set match,” Kasatkina said afterward. “To be honest, I like the way I started the season. I’ve had worse starts, cannot complain.”
After a win over Australian wild card Jones in the second, Kasatkina lost to eventual champion Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.
Kasatkina had a terrific 2024 that landed her in the year-end Top 10, the second time that’s happened.
Tomova is ranked No.56 and is 0-2 to start the year.
No.19 Madison Keys vs. Ann Li
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Keys won her second Adelaide title on Saturday, defeating top-seeded Jessica Pegula in three sets.
That victory may have come with a cost, however. Keys tweaked her left thigh and returned from a medical timeout with a protective wrap. That gives her only three days to get ready.
Li, who split four matches in Auckland and Hobart -- beating Sloane Stephens twice -- is ranked No.91.
No.26 Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Emma Raducanu
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Raducanu, nursing a back injury, withdrew from Auckland the first week of the season. Ranked No.60, she arrived in Melbourne following a 10-day training block.
“Coming back on the court, adapting to the conditions here has been good for me,” Raducanu told reporters. “I feel like I can, yeah, give it my best here. This week I've been playing sets with, yeah, top players. I’m feeling like I’m holding my own more than OK in those instances and practices.”
Of Alexandrova, Raducanu said, “She’s a player with a lot of experience. I’m coming in with the underdog mentality, I guess. She’s been in this situation many more times than I have.”
Alexandrova is 1-2 so far, falling to Ons Jabeur in Brisbane, beating Leylah Fernandez in Adelaide before losing to Emma Navarro 7-6(4), 6-2.
Seeded players in action on Day 3 at the Australian Open
[4] Jasmine Paolini vs. [Q] Wei Sijia
[6] Elena Rybakina vs. [WC] Emerson Jones
[8] Emma Navarro vs. Peyton Stearns
[9] Daria Kasatkina vs. Viktoriya Tomova
[13] Anna Kalinskaya vs. [Q] Kimberly Birrell
[15] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Julia Riera
[19] Madison Keys vs. Ann Li
[22] Katie Boulter vs. Rebecca Marino
[24] Yulia Putintseva vs. Elina Avanesyan
[26] Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Emma Raducanu
[31] Maria Sakkari vs. Camila Osorio
[32] Dayana Yastremska vs. Mayar Sherif
![[Q] Destanee Aiava d. Greet Minnen 5-7, 7-5, 7-6[5], Australian Open R1 (3:00). Aiava came from 5-2 down in set 2 and 5-3 down in set 3, saving two match points, to post her first Grand Slam main-draw win at the sixth attempt.](https://photoresources.wtatennis.com/photo-resources/2025/01/13/f4bfadb1-73e7-4ab2-aa4b-f804ef57ef67/Aiava-R1-William-West-AFP.jpg?width=451&height=268)
