"She's in the infancy of her career": Ashleigh Barty issues warning of over hyping new Aussie crop led by Maya Joint

Monday, 03 November 2025 at 14:00

Ashleigh Barty soon announced her retirement from tennis after lifting the 2022 Australian Open title

Maya Joint has had an exceptional debut year and at the age of 19 has already won two WTA 250 titles in Rabat and Eastbourne during the summer but Ashleigh Barty has said that while the excitement should be there about the next crop of talent, it should also come with patience.

Joint is now World No.32 and instead of clawing for a potential wildcard spot will be the top Aussie player and will be a seed for the first time at a Grand Slam. Also she is now the Aussie No.1 with Daria Kasatkina who was propelled into the position after switching nationalities ending her season early and falling down the rankings.

But Joint has thus far been an example of playing really well on the main tour without a Grand Slam breakthrough yet. Some never get there and some it takes time and Barty put her rise into perspective as she heads towards the Australian Open.

"I've spent a little bit of time with Maya on the court and what's been really brilliant this year is you've seen her growth in her confidence, in her ability and her consistency, really, throughout the whole season," Barty told AAP. "She had a really good start throughout the summer and then won a couple of titles and has done a really good job in some really tough locations, some tough tournaments, tough conditions.

"So next year will be a new challenge for her, a bit of a new beast in the different challenges that it presents. But Maya is a really lovely girl who works exceptionally hard and it's nice to see some of those girls that put in the work behind the scenes that not everyone necessarily sees day in and day out — they get the rewards because they deserve it."

Temper expectations especially over 17-year-old Emerson Jones

But while she was lauded, it is very much still a learning process and one that will continue to give her the tools to improve even further as time goes on with Joint not playing fully on tour until this year.

"She's very much in the infancy of her career. This is her first full season on tour," Barty added.

"So once she gets more comfortable within herself and that confidence and continues with that consistency — that's the challenge now for Maya.

"Whether that's in slams or it's in every other tournament, it's about going out there and giving her best showing each and every match and hopefully – fingers crossed – she can put it together in grand slams and experience what it's like to get into that second week and go deep, because it is really cool."

But while not much pressure comes externally, it does back home and Joint in particular will have that new found pressure that Barty and now De MInaur get as well as Kyrgios in the past for being their top talents and wanting them to perform.

"The girls in particular, I encourage them to embrace it, embrace the support, the warmth," Barty said.

"There's nothing like playing in Australia in January and when I learned to embrace that and accept it more, that's when I played better.

"So I would love to see those girls really welcome it with open arms and enjoy the crowd for what it is, enjoy the occasion, enjoy the moment and hopefully play some of their best tennis."

Emerson Jones is another who is at the start of her career at 17 and climbed to World No.160 and despite not being as down the track as Joint, it is tempering those expectations even more for her.

"She's very young. She's learning," Barty said. "She's had some good experiences this year, so for now it's just about that growth and that development, continuing to be patient. It's not going to happen overnight.

"She's got a lot of growing to do in her body and her game, but it's exciting because we have no idea where the ceiling is.

"As fans and spectators, we get to go along for the ride and watch her flourish and grow and be patient with that, but be excited at the same time."

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