Despite only being on the professional tour for a short amount of time, 18-year-old Maya Joint is already making waves in the sport.
Just a year after committing to the University of Texas in Austin, Joint prematurely turned her back on college in late 2024, instead deciding to go professional.
The American-born Australian youngster always knew what it would take to play at the highest level, and in this past week joined Kimberly Birrell and Olivia Gadecki as the third Australian in the WTA’s top-100 rankings.
Ajla Tomljanović would follow with her semi final run in Austin over the weekend.
"I always had a goal of being a professional tennis player; I think I knew what it took to get there," Joint told 'The First Serve Live' on Monday Night.
"I never got the support and the training to get that far [initially], so I’m grateful that Tennis Australia has been able to bring me to my potential."
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One of the most impressive victories of her young career came just days ago, demolishing Croatia’s world No.22 Donna Vekić 6-1 6-2, her biggest scalp in the live rankings (she did defeat former world number four and grand slam champion Sofia Kenin in Hobart back in January).
Joint would eventually fall to Elina Avanesyan in the quarter-finals of Mexico's Mérida Open in what was her best WTA showing to date being at 500 level (having made the semis of Hobart at 250 level).
This helped propel Joint into the world’s top-100, currently sitting at 85th with the talented Aussie joining 17-year-old Russian star Mirra Andreeva as the only other teenager in the top-100.
She has already made the main draw of the Australian Open this year and defeated veteran Laura Siegemund in the first-round of last year’s US Open, with hopes of qualifying for the French Open and Wimbledon for the first time later this season.
As Joint aims to qualify for the main draw at Indian Wells, she reflected on the past year and her rapid rise, describing the journey as "crazy".
"It’s kind of crazy. We were looking back at where we were a year ago in Santo Domingo playing a 35 ITF event (two levels below WTA)," she said.
"Everything’s just moved so quickly, but I’m really glad with how everything’s been going."
Despite making a so far successful leap to the WTA Tour, Joint believes the level is quite a step up and still has plenty of areas to improve on her journey towards reaching the top.
"The main difference is that the balls just come back more, a shot that I would hit that would be a winner is not a winner anymore, and they consistently get back better balls," she explained.
"We’re always working on my serve, that’s a big one. A lot of mental strengthening, that’s probably the main focus because it kind of ties everything else together."
The demands of being a professional tennis player can be brutal even for the most experienced players, let alone an 18-year-old. Players are often away from their families for nine or 10 months of the year, spending countless hours playing matches, on the practice courts and in hotel rooms.
Despite the 24/7 nature of elite-level tennis, Joint says she is enjoying the experience and feels supported throughout it all.
"It’s a lot of travel, a lot of time in hotel rooms, but I think I knew that when I came into the sport," she said.
"I’m lucky enough to have family all around the world, so I always have a place to go if I need to."
The young Aussie certainly has a bright future in the game and is set for a big year ahead, continuing at Indian Wells, a WTA 1000 event, as she attempts to qualify for her main draw debut at this level.
After claiming a 6-1 4-6 6-1 victory over Anastasia Zakharova in the opening round of qualifying, Joint will face Sweden's Mirjam Bjorklund, who knocked out Olivia Gadecki Tuesday in the desert.
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