Australia's top-ranked female tennis player, Maya Joint, is making waves at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2025, with her sights set on another title and a coveted Australian Open seeding. The 19-year-old has had an impressive run this year, rocketing up the world rankings from 116 at the start of 2025 to a career-high of 32. Currently ranked 32nd in the world, Joint needs to maintain that ranking to secure a seeded position for her home slam in January.
Joint, the fifth seed in the Hong Kong tournament, survived a scare in her opening match against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova, battling back from a set and a break down before a rain delay to win in three sets. However, she had a much smoother second-round encounter against Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Morvayova, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
"I started off really well [against Morvayova], which was a big focus," Joint said. "I was serving well, hitting my spots and being consistent". Despite a tougher second set where Morvayova found her rhythm, Joint maintained her composure to secure the victory. According to match statistics, Joint won 71% of her first-serve points and 55% of her second-serve points.
Joint's journey to the top has been rapid. Ranked 684th in the world at the start of 2024, she gained prominence with a main-draw win at the US Open last year after coming through qualifying. Her success continued into 2025, with WTA 250 titles in Rabat on clay and Eastbourne on grass. "It's been crazy, I didn't expect all this to happen so quickly," she said. "It was always a goal of mine to be one of the top players in the world but it's still hard to imagine that I am where I am". The Eastbourne victory was particularly significant, as she saved four match points in a tiebreak against Alexandra Eala.
In her post-match press conference, Joint reflected on her rapid rise and the impact of her tournament wins on her ranking. She also highlighted improvements to her serve, transition game, and net play. When asked about her favorite surface, Joint mentioned that while grass is her least favorite, she enjoys playing on both clay and hard courts.
Looking ahead to her quarter-final match, Joint is set to face either Japan's Himeno Sakatsume or Hong Kong wildcard Eudice Chong. Joint has a fine opportunity to make the semis as she will faces either Japan's world No.228 Himeno Sakatsume, who's already knocked out fourth seed Sofia Kenin, or local Hong Kong wildcard Eudice Chong, the world No.632, in Friday's last-eight contest. Meanwhile, other notable results at the Hong Kong Tennis Open include Sorana Cirstea's victory over defending champion Ajla Tomljanovic. Cirstea will face Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals. Additionally, Hong Kong's Eudice Chong and Cody Wong Hong-yi achieved a milestone by progressing in the doubles tournament for the first time.
The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, a WTA 250 tournament, is being held at Victoria Park from October 27 to November 2, 2025.
