16-year-old prodigy Emerson Jones has risen to world No.1 in the junior girls' singles rankings to break a 26-year Australian drought.
Not since Jelena Dokic in 1998 has the feat been achieved on the girls' side, while three-time Grand Slam champion Ash Barty propelled as high as No.2 back in 2011.
Jason Kubler (2009), Luke Saville (2011), and Nick Kyrgios (2012) are the only three players to have reached the top ranking in boys' singles in the last 20 years.
Jones, born on the Gold Coast, has remained consistent in 2024, qualifying for two Grand Slam finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Her 36 outings on the ITF junior tour this year have included 28 wins.
A deep run at Melbourne Park in January was made extra special by Jones becoming the first Australian junior girl in 16 years to compete in the singles final.
The Aussie moved up one place ahead of America's Iva Jović, despite the latter's semi-final appearance at the recent US Open compared to Jones' round of 16 exit.
Billie Jean King Cup captain and two-time major winner, Sam Stosur, believes the teenager has the world on the tip of her racquet.
“She hits a good ball. She hits it hard, she hits it deep,” Stosur said during Wimbledon.
“She’s not very big, but she gets some pretty good pace off her racquet. I think she’s got a bright future.”
Tennis runs in the blood of the Jones family, with older brother Hayden, 17, Australia's top-ranked junior boy sitting at No.12.
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