The best 25+ juniors in Australian tennis right now
You may already know Cruz Hewitt and Emerson Jones who are touted as Australia’s future tennis heroes but here’s your chance to meet dozens of other young guns who are aiming for Grand Slam success.
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Australia’s tennis scene is thriving and the next crop of youngsters are ready to be the next Ash Barty, Alex De Minaur or Nick Kyrgios.
Twenty Aussies will play in the singles main draw at the 2025 Australian Open including three seeded players in the men’s section.
Australian tennis has enjoyeed some significant success of late with De Minaur ranked in the world’s top-10, Barty winning singles Grand Slams and Matt Ebden and John Peers winning Paris Olympic doubles gold in 2024.
That trend looks set to continue with a host of names ready to leap from the juniors to the big stage.
We’ve listed the next generation of future stars, ranging from those about to enter seniors to those who are one the verge of doing great things in 2025.
Check out the list below.
George Anderson - 17, Tasmania
Represented Tasmania at the Pizzey Cup last year and also was the best junior from the state. He won a 10k tournament at Darwin in 2024.
Renee Alame - 15, New South Wales
Already in the top-100 juniors in the world despite being just 15. Last year she represented Australia at the Billie Jean King Junior Cup. Alame won the clay court title in the under-12s and under-14s in 2022 and 2023 as well.
Ava Beck - 16, Victoria
Victoria’s highest ranked junior. Beck is inside the junior top-100 world rankings and won last year’s under-18 title at the December Showdown. Last year, she also competed at the Billie Jean King Cup and is a handy doubles player. Expect her to play in the Australian Open junior girls singles later this month.
Kimiko Cooper - 16, New South Wales
A top-200 junior who won three junior titles in 2023. Cooper says her game is similar to Danish star Caroline Wozniacki. Cooper is expected to be playing at the Australian Open girls singles event later this month.
Alicia Dale - 17, Tasmania
Was voted Tasmania’s best female junior at the Tennis Tasmania awards last year. Dale also became the first Tasmanian in 44 years to win the Australia Cup last year. Despite being ranked just outside the top-600, Dale has already won an ITF junior event, winning on the Gold Coast in July last year.
Jake Dembo - 16, Western Australia
He might be only 16 but Dembo has already played at Wimbledon, playing in the 14-and-under tournament in 2022. He was also the youngest ever player in the Tennis West state league. Dembo is currently inside the top-70 for junior boys and has represented Australia in the junior Davis Cup.
Natalie Gaft - 16, New South Wales
One of only three 16-year-old Australians with a WTA ranking. The right hander won the grasscourt championships the under-14s in 2023 and is one of New South Wales’ best prospects.
Cruz Hewitt - 16, Queensland
The son of a gun who has already impressed. Cruz is the son of former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton. Hewitt is 59th in the world in juniors and on his way to a top-1000 ATP ranking. Last year, he won his first main draw match on the professional tour and recently made his debut in Australian Open qualifying. He is sure to be involved in the boys Australian Open later this month.
Ty Host - 17, NA
He might be just 17 but Host already has a powerful serve, able to hit serves more than 200km/h. Host is another Aussie who has chosen to play for Australia when he could have played for another country. Last year, he made the second round of the Australian Open boys tournament and is currently the number one Australian junior boy.
Ymerali Ibraimi - 15, Victoria
Won the national under-16 title last year at the December Showdown. A promising junior who is already ranked inside the top-500. Ibraimi will make his debut at a grand slam at the Australian Open in the boys singles main draw.
Maya Joint - 18, Queensland
The highest ranked Australian on this list. The 18-year-old, who could also represent the United States, made headlines last year qualifying for the US Open and then winning her first main draw match. The talented junior is on track to be inside the top-100 by the end of the month after impressing at the WTA Hobart International. Joint was meant to play college tennis this year for Texas but has opted to go professional this year and forego college.
Emerson Jones - 16, Queensland
The brightest young talent in Australian tennis right now. Jones is the world no.1 junior and recently won her first WTA singles match against world no.37 Xin Wang. Last year, Jones finished runner-up in the girls at the Australian Open and will start as the favourite in this year’s event. But she’ll compete in the event after making her main draw debut in the women’s field as a wildcard.
Hayden Jones - 18, Queensland
The older brother of Emerson. Last year, he became the first Aussie in five years to crack the top-10 in the junior rankings and is currently ranked inside the ATP’s top-1000. He recently lost in a final set tiebreaker in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open and will turn professional this year.
Daniel Jovanovski - 16, Victoria
Nicknamed the ‘King of December Showdown’, Jovanovski in won the under-14 national title in 2022 before winning 16s a year later. He is also a top-100 junior. Last year he made his boys singles debut at the Australian Open and will be compete again this year.
Jarrod Joyce - 18, Victoria
The Ballarat player got an official ATP ranking last year and was the highest ranked Victorian boys junior under the age of 18. His goal in 2025 is to reach the ATP top-500. He recently was accepted to play college tennis in the United States for Memphis University.
Tahlia Kokkinis - 16, Queensland
Describes herself as an aggressive player. Kokkinis is currently ranked inside the top-150 juniors and made her WTA debut at the recent Brisbane International. The teenager is part of the National Tennis Academy and represented Australia at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup junior finals.
Stefan Kostic - 18, Victoria
Earned his first ATP ranking point in 2024 and is one of the youngest Australians with a ranking. In the doubles, he made one ITF semi-final and two quarter finals during his 2024 season.
Duje Markovina - 17, New South Wales
Recently announced he was playing for Australia after having represented Croatia. Markovina is currently ranked inside the top-60 juniors and received an ATP ranking last year. Markovina is coached by former top ranked Australian Wayne Arthurs and will compete in the upcoming Traralgon junior and the Australian Open boys events.
Lachlan McFadzean - 17, New South Wales
From the northern beaches of Sydney, McFadzean won the national under-18 title last year. McFadzean is a top-200 junior who made the final at an ITF junior event in New Zealand last October. He’ll play singles at the Australian Open boys juniors later this month.
Sarah Mildren - 16, South Australia
One of the top Croweater prospects. Mildren won the under-16 national title at the December Showdown last year and is ranked inside the top-250 for juniors. Last year, she also won her first ITF junior event in China.
Koharu Nishikawa - 15, Victoria
Inside the top-150 junior rankings and has represented Australia twice at the Billie Jean King Cup. Last year, she finished runner-up in the under-18 national titles as a 15-year-old.
Alana Subasic - 17, New South Wales
Currently in the top-40 junior rankings and has won four ITF titles. The talented teenager recently made her Australian Open qualifying debut. The previous week, in Canberra, Subasic won her first WTA singles match.
Lily Taylor - 18, Queensland
Taylor is inside the WTA’s top-1200 and in 2023 was the runner-up at the under-18 national championships. In 2021, she won the under-14s clay court singles and double titles. Taylor was born in England but moved to Australia and is based in Brisbane. She’ll turn professional this year.
Hugh Winter - 18, South Australia
The younger brother of ATP ranked player, Edward Winter. Hugh will join his brother this year in the United States, playing college tennis for Pepperdine. Winter reached world number 60 for juniors and won a couple of titles.
Originally published as The best 25+ juniors in Australian tennis right now
Sobey stars as injuries sour Phoenix’s big win over Bullets
While a South East Melbourne veteran reminded Brisbane of his damaging best on Saturday, two separate injuries are set to raise concerns about the state of the court in Gippsland.
Hobart final: Kessler denies Mertens a third crown
A dominant third set propelled American McCartney Kessler to victory over Elise Mertens in Saturday’s Hobart International final, denying the Belgian a third crown. Get the latest in our rolling coverage.