Gold Coast teen prodigy Wimbledon runner-up after becoming first Aussie since Ash Barty into girls final

Gold Coast tennis prodigy Emerson Jones is making her mark on Australian tennis history after being runner-up in Wimbledon girls tournament.

Gold Coast tennis prodigy Emerson Jones has made her mark on Australian tennis history after taking runner-up at Wimbledon.

The 16-year-old from Coomera Waters was the first Aussie since Ash Barty to make it to the Wimbledon girls final after beating American sixth seed Iva Jovica in straight sets 7-5 6-1 in the semi-final.

Emerson Jones during her Wimbledon semi. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

It earnt her a spot in the final against 17-year-old No. 1 seed Slovakian Renata Jamrichova who managed to win five of the final six games to triumph 6-3 6-4.

Jamrichova was the same opponent who beat Jones at Rod Laver Arena in January, defeating her 6-4 6-1 in the Australian Open girls’ showdown making it the second grand slam final she has lost to the Slovakian in six months.

Joy for Jamrichova 🌟

The Slovakian defeats Australia's Emerson Jones 6-3, 6-4 to win her second girls' singles Grand Slam title of 2024 💪#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/g6NSjW5oyf

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2024

After the game Jones said she could not complain about the match as she played well, but Jamrichova “was a bit too good”.

“I made the final of junior Wimbledon, so that’s pretty exciting,” she said after 66 minutes playing.

“It was a pretty great experience playing on court one, big crowd and everything.”

Emerson Jones against Iva Jovic of United States in the girls singles semi-final. Picture: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

While the Slovakian took the title, Jones did not make it easy for her, getting ahead 3-1 in the second set until Jamrichova bounced back.

“Her serve was tough to handle but in the second set, I felt like I got myself into it a bit more and was trying to figure out her serves, and felt I was getting closer to breaking her,” said Jones.

“The court was a bit worn down, so there were some dodgy bounces, but I was training on some dodgy courts back at home.”

Now Jones, who is the daughter of 2004 Olympic silver medal-winning triathlete Loretta Harrop and Queensland state-league footballer Brad Jones, said she will return home and prepare for the US Open.

“What I’m most proud of this week was just probably my efforts to keep myself calm. This whole week, I’ve been mentally pretty good. Just the way I’ve been playing, I’ve been pretty proud and happy about that,” she said.