Teen sensation Maya Joint ascends to Australian Number One as Daria Kasatkina continues to slide

Daria Kasatkina has ended her season early and it also presents new issues as she has now been passed in this week's WTA Rankings and while when she defected to Australia, she was far and away top Aussie it is now Maya Joint.

The 19-year-old has long been rising and has been winning titles consistently. The difference perhaps with her and a smattering of rising stars including Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko who are all the next cabs off the rank so to speak is that performances in the Grand Slams aren't as easy to come by.

Joint has played well in the smaller events but has yet to string together a Grand Slam run of note, something she will aim to do when she returns home as the top Aussie likely with big billing alongside Alex de Minaur as the other big name in Australian tennis come January.

A far cry from a player who was barely in the top 100 last year. She is now top 32 and will be seeded for the event as things stand. She claimed her first singles title in Morocco in May with a grass court title also forthcoming. She made the semi-finals in Korea in September and she lost to Karolina Muchova in the second round this week but in reality has done enough to be in those higher echelons.

Not so much for Kasatkina who lost 500 points this week as a result of not playing since September and not defending Ningbo as a result. A far cry from last year where she headed to Riyadh as the main alternate and played a match. This year she has slid down the rankings and been nowhere near. Albeit she admitted in a statement this week that she has held onto feelings for a long time and reached breaking point.

“I’ve been far from fine for a long time and truth be told, my results and performances show that, the fans aren’t stupid, they can see it too,” she wrote on Instagram earlier this week. “I’ve kept a lid on my feelings because I don’t want to seem like I am moaning, weak, or god forbid ungrateful or unappreciative of this amazing life we live as professional tennis players. The schedule is too much, mentally and emotionally I am at breaking point and sadly, I am not alone.”

“Add into the mix the emotional and mental stress related to my nationality switch, not being able to see my parents (4 years now for my father and I), plus the ongoing battles to gain full Australian competition eligibility, it’s a lot and there is only so much I can deal with and take as an individual woman, all whilst competing with the best female athletes in the world. If this makes me weak, then so be it, I’m weak. However, I know I am strong and I will get stronger by being away, recharging, regrouping and reenergising. It’s time I listened to myself for a change, my mind, my heart and my body.”

But it also went from bad to worse for the Australian as she now moves into 36th spot and becomes unseeded after long being at the very least top 15. While the need to prioritise health is one thing, it sees her head into her first Australian Open as an Aussie not only disadvantaged when it comes to her mental side but also rankings as Joint who started the season barely in the top 100 now passing her.

There is also new hope for Ajla Tomljanovic who has had a renaissance in recent weeks and the same can be said for Priscilla Hon. Both return home to Australia with a lot more to shout about going into the Aussie swing in the new year.