Australian Open 2025: Gold Coaster Emerson Jones among nine players granted main draw wildcards
Gold Coast tennis prodigy Emerson Jones, 16, is set to make her senior grand slam debut on home soil, and she could yet be joined by her brother.
Tennis
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tennis. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Rising Australian tennis prodigy Emerson Jones is set to make her senior Australian Open debut at just 16 years of age after she was granted a main draw wildcard entry on Friday.
The Gold Coast teen was one of nine players to earn a wildcard place in the grand slam, capping off a spectacular year.
The 16-year-old sensation is the ITF world number one junior and last month achieved her first professional win when she toppled three Aussies inside the top-200 en route to the Perpetual NSW Open title in Sydney.
“She’s getting the rewards that she deserves for having a good year,” said Jones’ mum Loretta Harrop, who herself is an Olympic silver medallist in triathlon.
“She’s taking it in her stride, she’s had some great results this year.”
In 2024, Jones reached the junior grand slam finals of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and was crowned the Female Junior Athlete of the Year at the Newcombe Medal earlier this week.
She also created history in October when she became the first Australian ITF Junior World Tour Finals champion in China. Alongside 18-year-old brother Hayden Jones, the pair made history when they became the first set of siblings to both qualify for the ITF Junior World Tour Finals in its seven-year history.
The two hotshots were hoping to secure a wildcard berth to compete in the mixed doubles together at the Australian Open, which is set to be announced at a later date.
Earlier this year, Hayden achieved a career-high ITF junior ranking of world no. 8, and is hoping to join his sister in the Australian Open main draw via the qualifiers.
“It’s not an easy pathway, not just for the player but the family,” Harrop said of chasing the tennis dream, with either her or her husband accompanying Emerson on a handful of overseas trips this year alone.
“She likes the lifestyle of tennis and she’s really driven to try and win every tournament that she goes in.
“It’s challenging for all of us at times but she seems pretty happy to stick with it and see where she comes out the other end.
“We don’t let her travel by herself which is a lot on us as well but at her age it’s really important she’s kept safe and happy and healthy, that’s the main thing my husband and I try to ensure.
“It’s not easy on the junior circuit and she did extremely well to step up to the women’s and win a pro title, that was a goal of hers so she’s pretty happy she’s achieved it before the end of the year.”
Harrop wasn’t sure exactly what Jones’ calendar will entail after the Australian Open, but forecast a combination of junior grand slams and more senior events.
“After that she’ll be heading overseas, it just keeps going around like that,” Harrop mused.
Three-time grand slam winner and 2014 men’s Australian Open Stan Wawrinka headlined the other eight names granted wildcard entries on Friday, as did Daria Saville who is fresh off winning the Gold Coast International.
Aussies Tristan Schoolkate, Li Tu, James McCabe, Ajla Tomljanovic, Talia Gibson and Maya Joint were the other players to earn wildcards, with more main draw and qualifier wildcards set to be announced in the coming weeks.
More Coverage
Originally published as Australian Open 2025: Gold Coaster Emerson Jones among nine players granted main draw wildcards
Tennis champ Ash Barty‘s adorable Christmas announcement
In an adorable Christmas message to her fans on social media, Queensland tennis champ Ash Barty has revealed her family is expanding.
Why coming clean may not help Aussie escape ‘doper’ perception
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Max Purcell’s voluntary doping admission may result in a lenient penalty, but the Aussie star may still have to cop the same treatment of a cheater.