Maya Joint
Australian tennis player (born 2006)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maya Joint (born 16 April 2006) is an Australian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking by the WTA of 28, achieved on 16 February 2026, and a best doubles ranking of No. 33, set on the same date.[2] Joint has won four WTA Tour titles, two in singles and two in doubles.
Joint at the 2025 Washington Open | |
| Country (sports) | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 April 2006[1] |
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Coach | Chris Mahony |
| Prize money | US$ 1,899,854 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 131–83 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 28 (16 February 2026) |
| Current ranking | No. 87 (29 June 2026) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2025, 2026) |
| French Open | 1R (2025, 2026) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2025, 2026) |
| US Open | 2R (2024, 2025) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 66–45 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 33 (16 February 2026) |
| Current ranking | No. 45 (29 June 2026) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2026) |
| French Open | 2R (2025, 2026) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2025) |
| US Open | 1R (2025) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2026) |
| Last updated on: 29 June 2026. | |
Joint represents Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup.[citation needed]
Early life
Joint was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan to an Australian father, Michael (Mick) Joint,[3] and a German mother, Katja Joint.[4] Her father left Australia at 19 years of age to pursue a professional squash career, which included stints in Argentina, in Canada, and in Germany,[5] where he met his future wife, who played squash, tennis, and badminton competitively in Germany.[6] The couple settled in Detroit in 2004, two years before their daughter Maya was born, and moved back to Australia in 2025[7] when Mick accepted a coaching role at the MCC Squash Club.[8]
Joint began playing tennis in kindergarten at the local Michigan courts when she would hit tennis balls with her father using a squash racquet.[9] A dual citizen of Australia and the United States from birth,[10] Joint was showing promising signs while competing on the ITF junior circuit and at 15 years of age began contemplating whether to switch allegiances for greater support.[9] In mid-2023, at 17 years of age, she officially made the decision to start representing her father's country of Australia and relocated to Brisbane for better development opportunities by training at Tennis Australia's National Academy (Queensland) with the likes of top 60 WTA players Kim Birrell and Ajla Tomljanović as well as junior world No. 1, Emerson Jones.[11] Shortly after her 19th birthday, Joint permanently moved to Melbourne in mid-2025.[12]
College
On 8 November 2023, Joint committed to the Texas Longhorns tennis team starting from the 2024/25 season.[13] In August 2024, she was controversially required to forfeit $140,000 in US Open prize money to maintain NCAA eligibility.[14] The ruling was widely criticised and described by American tennis great Andy Roddick as "absurd".[15] On 26 December 2024, Joint announced she would turn professional and forgo her college tennis opportunity.[16]
Career
On the ITF Junior Circuit, Joint had a combined ranking of No. 20, achieved on 29 January 2024.[17]
2021-22: Beginnings on the professional tour
Joint competed in her first professional tournament at 14 years of age in February 2021 at an Orlando W25 event and was eliminated in the first round of qualifying. She returned to the professional tour in late 2022 as a 16 year old and won her way into the W25 event in Waco, Texas by recording two straight set qualifying victories, before winning her first professional main-draw match by defeating Ukrainian Hanna Poznikhirenko. She was then defeated in the second round, in three sets.
2023: First ITF Circuit title
As a wildcard at the W60 Sydney Challenger event in November 2023, Joint reached her first professional semifinal and was defeated by sixth seed Destanee Aiava, in three sets.[18] She won her first ITF title a month later in her new home state of Queensland at the 2023 Gold Coast Tennis International in the doubles draw, partnering Roisin Gilheany.[19]
2024: Major debut and first win
She made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 2024 Australian Open, in mixed doubles with Dane Sweeny as a wildcard pair.[20]
In February 2024, at 17 years of age, Joint became the youngest Australian player ever to win a W75 singles title, defeating Aoi Ito at Burnie.[21]
In July, she finished runner-up at the WTA 125 Polish Open defeating Maja Chwalińska,[22] before losing in the final to Alycia Parks.[23]
Ranked as the highest 18 years old at No. 136, she made her major singles debut at the 2024 US Open after qualifying[24][25] and recorded her first major win over Laura Siegemund.[26] She lost in the second round to 14th seed Madison Keys, in straight sets.[27]
2025: First WTA Tour title, Billie Jean King Cup debut, top 40
Having announced her decision to turn professional,[16] Joint began the 2025 season with a victory over fellow Australian Maddison Inglis at the Brisbane International,[28] before falling to 10th seed Victoria Azarenka in three sets in the second round.[29] The following week, she reached her first WTA semifinal at the Hobart International by defeating Olga Danilović[30] and then fourth seed Magda Linette for her maiden win against a top-50 ranked player,[31] before overcoming wildcard entrant Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals.[32] She lost in the last four to second seed Elise Mertens.[33] Joint was given a wildcard entry into the main draw at the Australian Open, but lost to seventh seed Jessica Pegula in the first round.[34]
Partnering Taylah Preston, Joint won her first WTA 125 doubles title at the Cancún Open, defeating Aliona Bolsova and Yvonne Cavallé Reimers in the final.[35] Joint qualified for the main draw at the Mérida Open[36] and defeated Julia Grabher. As a result, Joint reached on 3 March 2025 the top 100 in the singles rankings for the first time in her career, becoming only the second teenager in the top 100, at the age of 18 (and second youngest after Mirra Andreeva).[37][38][39] She defeated world No. 20 and fifth seed Donna Vekić, conceding only three games, to make it through to her first WTA 500 quarterfinal.[40][41][42] Joint won the first set of her last eight encounter against Elina Avanesyan but ultimately lost the match, getting bagelled in the deciding set.[43] Despite the defeat she rose into the top 85 in the rankings.[44]
In March, Joint qualified for the WTA 1000 tournament at Indian Wells.[45] She lost to Sorana Cîrstea in the first round.[46]
Joint made her debut for the Australia Billie Jean King Cup team against Kazakhstan in the 2025 qualifying round held in Brisbane in April, losing to Yulia Putintseva in the opening singles match.[47] She then defeated Yuliana Monroy as Australia beat Colombia, although it was not enough to see them progress to the finals.[48]
After qualifying for the Madrid Open, Joint overcame wildcard entrant Carlota Martínez Círez to secure her first WTA Tour main draw clay-court win.[49] Aged 19 years and five days at the time, the victory also made her the youngest Australian to win a WTA 1000 match, breaking the previous record of 20 years and 330 days set by Ashleigh Barty at the 2017 Miami Open.[50][51] Joint lost to 11th seed Emma Navarro in the second round.[52] She qualified for the Italian Open, but lost to Emma Raducanu in the first round.[53]
In May at the Morocco Open, Joint won her first WTA Tour title, defeating Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets in the final.[54] She and partner Oksana Kalashnikova won the doubles at the same tournament, overcoming Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello in the championship match.[54] As a result, Joint rose to new career-high rankings of world No. 53 in singles and No. 107 in doubles on 26 May 2025.[55] That same day, she made her French Open debut but lost to fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanović, in straight sets.[56]
Moving onto the grass-court season at the Eastbourne Open, Joint defeated Ons Jabeur,[57] seventh seed Emma Raducanu,[58] Anna Blinkova[59] and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the final,[60][61] which she won against Alexandra Eala in three sets, saving four match points in the process, to claim her second career singles title.[62][63] Three days later, she made her main-draw debut at Wimbledon,[64] losing to 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the first round.[65]
At the Cincinnati Open in August, Joint defeated Greet Minnen[66] and 18th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia[67] to reach the third round, where her run was ended by 12th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, in straight sets.[68] She recorded a straight sets win over qualifier Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva to make it into the second round at the US Open,[69] at which point she lost to eighth seed Amanda Anisimova.[70]
In September, Joint defeated qualifier Linda Fruhvirtová,[71] seventh seed Sofia Kenin[72] and third seed Clara Tauson to reach the semifinals at the Korea Open.[73] She lost in the last four to top seed Iga Świątek.[74] Partnering Caty McNally, she was runner-up in the doubles at the tournament, losing to Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in the final.[75] The following week at the China Open, Joint overcame qualifier Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva[76] and 17th seed Diana Shnaider[77] to make it into the third round, where she lost to Sonay Kartal.[78]
Seeded fifth at the Hong Kong Open in October, Joint defeated Anastasija Sevastova,[79] Viktória Morvayová[80] and Himeno Sakatsume[81] to reach the semifinals, at which point she lost to Cristina Bucșa.[82]
Playing for Australia in the BJK Cup play-offs in Hobart the following month, Joint recorded wins over Francisca Jorge[83] and Laura Pigossi[84] as her team defeated Portugal and Brazil, respectively, to top their group and advance to the 2026 qualifying round.[85]
2026: WTA 500 doubles title, singles losing streak, out of top 80
Joint began her 2026 campaign at the United Cup where she represented Australia alongside ATP world No. 6, Alex de Minaur. They were defeated in the quarterfinals by the eventual champions Poland where Joint was defeated in her match against world No. 2 Iga Świątek, after falling ill on the eve of the tournament.[86] Joint then travelled to South Australia to compete in the Adelaide International and defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round.[87] In mid-January, it was confirmed that Joint would receive the 30th seeding at the 2026 Australian Open, the first Australian seed at the tournament since Ashleigh Barty at the 2022 Australian Open.[88] She lost in round one to Tereza Valentová.[89]
In early February, she teamed up with Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Abu Dhabi Open to win her first WTA 500 doubles title. In the final, which was repeatedly interrupted by rain and complicated by the fact that Alexandrova had just played (and lost) in the singles final and was visibly very tired, they defeated Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls in a super tiebreak.[90]
Defending her title at the Eastbourne Open in June, Joint lost to Emiliana Arango in the first round to suffer her 11th consecutive WTA Tour singles defeat and drop out of the world's top 80 as a result.[91]
Sponsorships and endorsements
Joint is currently sponsored by the Australian sportswear brand Elite Eleven.[92]
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
Singles
Current through the 2026 French Open.
| Tournament | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||
| Australian Open | Q3 | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| French Open | A | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Wimbledon | Q2 | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| US Open | 2R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0 / 7 | 2–7 | 22% |
| WTA 1000 tournaments | ||||||
| Qatar Open | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Dubai Championships | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% |
| Indian Wells Open | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Miami Open | A | Q2 | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – |
| Madrid Open | A | 2R | A | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
| Italian Open | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% |
| Canadian Open | A | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | |
| Cincinnati Open | A | 3R | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 4–8 | 0–4 | 0 / 12 | 4–12 | 25% |
| Career statistics | ||||||
| Tournaments | 2 | 17 | 9 | Total: 28 | ||
| Titles | 0 | 2 | 0 | Total: 2 | ||
| Finals | 0 | 2 | 0 | Total: 2 | ||
| Overall win–loss | 1–2 | 29–17 | 2–10 | 1 / 28 | 32–29 | 52% |
| Year-end ranking | 119 | 32 | $1,745,096 | |||
Doubles
Current through the 2026 French Open.
| Tournament | 2025 | 2026 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||
| Australian Open | 1R | 3R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| French Open | 2R | 2R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% |
| Wimbledon | 3R | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% | |
| US Open | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Win–loss | 3–4 | 3–2 | 0 / 6 | 6–6 | 50% |
| WTA 1000 tournaments | |||||
| Qatar Open[a] | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Dubai[a] | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Indian Wells Open | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Miami Open | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Madrid Open | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Italian Open | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Canadian Open | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | |
| Cincinnati Open | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| China Open | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Wuhan Open | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Win–loss | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Career statistics | |||||
| Tournaments | Career total: | ||||
| Titles | Career total: | ||||
| Finals | Career total: | ||||
| Overall win–loss | |||||
| Year-end ranking | |||||
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 2 (2 titles)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 2025 | Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco |
WTA 250 | Clay | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jun 2025 | Eastbourne Open, United Kingdom |
WTA 250 | Grass | 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(12–10) |
Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
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|
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| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | May 2025 | Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco |
WTA 250 | Clay | 6–3, 7–5 | ||
| Loss | 1–1 | Jun 2025 | Eastbourne Open, United Kingdom |
WTA 250 | Grass | 4–6, 5–7 | ||
| Loss | 1–2 | Sep 2025 | Korea Open, South Korea |
WTA 500 | Hard | 3–6, 6–7(6–8) | ||
| Win | 2–2 | Feb 2026 | Abu Dhabi Open, United Arab Emirates |
WTA 500 | Hard | 3–6, 7–6(7–5), [10–8] |
WTA 125 finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 2024 | Kozerki Open, Poland | Hard | 6–4, 3–6, 3–6 |
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2025 | Cancún Open, Mexico | Hard | 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| Loss | 1–1 | Mar 2025 | Puerto Vallarta Open, Mexico | Hard | 6–2, 2–6, [7–10] |
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
|
|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 2024 | Burnie International, Australia | W75 | Hard | 1–6, 6–1, 7–5 | |
| Win | 2–0 | Mar 2024 | ITF Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep. | W35 | Hard | 6–4, 2–6, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 2–1 | May 2024 | Bonita Springs Championship, US | W100 | Clay | 1–6, 3–6 |
Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
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|
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2023 | ITF Toronto, Canada | W25 | Hard (i) | 6–7(6), 0–6 | ||
| Win | 1–1 | Nov 2023 | Gold Coast International, Australia | W60 | Hard | 7–6(3), 6–1 | ||
| Loss | 1–2 | May 2024 | ITF Otočec, Slovenia | W50 | Clay | 6–3, 4–6, [5–10] |
Best Grand Slam results details
Singles
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Notes
- The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.