“The last few months have been crazy”: Aussie sensation Maya Joint sets clear goals for a bigger 2026 season

The 19-year-old Maya Joint is already setting goals for the 2026 season following a notable year in which she won her first two WTA-level titles and secured a seeded spot for the upcoming Australian Open. The Aussie No. 1 was recently honored in her home country as the Female Junior Athlete of the Year at a ceremony held in Melbourne by Tennis Australia.

Joint has quietly made a name for herself among the elite during 2025. The low-profile Australian managed to become one of the year's great breakout stars, rising from world No. 118 at the start of the season to a year-end ranking of No. 32, her best position so far.

From the beginning of the year, she showed signs that this would be a season of ascent. At barely 18 years old, she reached her first WTA semifinals in January at the Hobart Open, where she defeated 4th seed Magda Linette and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, before being eliminated in the semis by the experienced Elise Mertens.

By mid-year, she had already settled into the top 100—becoming the second 18-year-old player to reach that milestone, following only Mirra Andreeva. They were later joined by Victoria Mboko, Iva Jovic, Tereza Valentova, and Sara Bejlek throughout the year.

However, if anything characterized Joint, it was her consistency throughout the season. She reached the semifinals in three WTA tournaments and won two titles: one on clay courts in Rabat and another on grass courts in Eastbourne. She finished the season with a 52-28 record and more than $1 million earned in prize money.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Australian teenager admitted that she does not have a specific ranking target, but she hopes to improve her results across different tournament categories throughout the year.

"We try not to set too many ranking goals, but I think a goal would be to reach the fourth round of a Masters 1000, the third round of a Grand Slam and maybe the semifinals of a 500," she said to The Sit-Down Podcast according to Punto de Break. "But, aside from these goals, we are also working on improving forehand and backhand shots, and mentality, and trying to become a more versatile player."

As the Australian revealed, her rise has been almost too fast to fully process. In her last tournament of the season—the Hong Kong Open—she reached her first WTA 500 semifinals, falling to Spaniard Cristina Bucsa. Joint had arrived at the tournament as the 5th seed, something she will have to get used to in 2026. Everything indicates she will occupy a seeded spot at the Australian Open, and if she manages to break into the top 30, it will be common to see her among the favorites in WTA 250 or WTA 500 tournaments throughout the year.

"The last few months have been crazy. I've lived a really cool journey, so I'm very excited that it keeps rising. I don't know exactly what brought me here to this level, but I want to keep enjoying it," she said.

"I think I have worked a lot on and off the court, and mentally too. I don't know exactly what it was; nor do I know how I won those two titles. But I just go match by match, without thinking too much about the ranking," the teenager added. "Definitely, I look back and think about what happened in earlier moments of my career. Sometimes, those photo memories appear on my phone and I think: ‘Wow, that was so long ago!’ But in reality, it wasn't that long ago. Sometimes I forget that I'm only 19."