Australia’s rising tennis star Maya Joint has broken one of Ash Barty’s records after claiming her first WTA 1000 match win at the Madrid Open.
Making her main draw debut on a tour-level clay court, the 19-year-old from Queensland defeated Spain’s Carlota Martinez Cirez 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in a hard-fought first-round match on Wednesday.
This win makes Joint the youngest Australian to ever win a WTA 1000 match. She achieved the milestone just five days after her 19th birthday, overtaking Barty’s previous record. Barty was 20 years and 330 days old when she secured her first win at this level during the 2017 Miami Open.
Joint, who was born in the U.S. but represents Australia through her father, had already impressed in the qualifying rounds. She secured strong wins against experienced players Sara Errani and Jil Teichmann. Her victory over Martinez Cirez marked her third win in as many days.
Although it was her first appearance in a tour-level clay match, Joint showed confidence and resilience. She played a dominant first set but struggled in the second, losing rhythm on her backhand. In the deciding set, she bounced back to break Martinez Cirez’s serve at a crucial 4-4 moment. The match lasted two hours and seven minutes.
Currently ranked No. 78 in the world, Joint was outside the top 250 just a year ago. Her steady rise now gives her a shot at another major win when she faces world No. 10 Emma Navarro of the U.S. in the second round on Thursday.
In other matches, Ajla Tomljanovic was eliminated after a close 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 loss to Swiss player Rebeka Masarova, ranked 153rd in the world. Masarova sits 74 places below Tomljanovic in the rankings.
Kim Birrell was also knocked out earlier in the week by American Peyton Stearns. With their exits, only Joint and Daria Kasatkina remain in the women’s draw representing Australia. Kasatkina, the 14th seed, received a first-round bye and will begin her campaign against American Alycia Parks. Parks advanced after defeating Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-3, 6-3.
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