Aussie weekly wrap: Emerson Jones clinches big junior title in Italy

Rising star Emerson Jones was one of many Australians posting impressive results at tournaments across the world this week.

Milan, Italy, 27 May 2024 | Leigh Rogers

All eyes have been on France this week, where a strong contingent of Australian players have either been competing at or preparing for Roland Garros 2024.

Across the globe though, it’s been a busy and exciting week for Australian players.

Emerson Jones continues to prove she is one to watch, with the 15-year-old sweeping the girls’ singles title at an ITF J500 tournament in Italy.

This is her second title at this level, which are the biggest junior tournaments outside the four Grand Slam events.

Jones’ older brother, 17-year-old Hayden, was also a finalist in the boys’ doubles event.

The Australian 16-and-under team finished fifth at the Junior Davis Cup Asia-Oceania qualifying event in Kazakhstan this week, just missing out on securing a place in the finals later this year.

Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt, made his representative debut in the competition alongside South Australia’s Jeffrey Strydom and Western Australia’s Cameron Burton. Former world No.2 doubles star Sandon Stolle was the team captain.

This week’s most outstanding performers include:

Aleksandar Vukic: The 28-year-old scored his career-best win on European clay, beating world No.76 Mackenzie McDonald to reach the second round at an ATP 250 tournament in Lyon (France).

Philip Sekulic: The 20-year-old advanced to the singles semifinals at an ATP Challenger tournament in Kachreti (Georgia). The in-form Sekulic has now scored six wins and made two semifinal appearances from his past three tournaments.

Blake Mott: The 28-year-old was a singles quarterfinalist at the ATP Challenger tournament in Kachreti. This was Mott’s best result at an ATP Challenger event played outside Australia since May 2017.

Maya Joint: The 18-year-old was a doubles finalist at an ITF 50 tournament in Otocec (Slovenia) alongside American Rasheeda McAdoo. Joint also advanced to the singles quarterfinals.

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Lizette Cabrera and Gabriella Da Silva Fick: The Aussie pair made the doubles semifinals at an ITF 50 tournament in Goyang (Korea). This was 26-year-old Cabrera’s best result at this level since February 2023 and 23-year-old Da Silva Fick’s deepest run at an ITF 50 event.

Maddison Inglis: The 26-year-old progressed to the singles quarterfinals at the ITF 50 tournament in Goyang. The in-form Inglis has won eight of her past 10 matches on hard court.

Alexandra Bozovic: The 25-year-old teamed with Hong Kong’s Wong Hong Yi Cody to win the doubles title at an ITF 35 tournament in Santo Domingo. This is Bozovic’s ninth career doubles title and her first this season.

Elysia Bolton: The 24-year-old advanced to the singles semifinals at the ITF 35 tournament in Santo Domingo. This was Bolton’s best singles result since July 2022.

Heath Davidson: The 37-year-old won the quad doubles title at an ITF wheelchair tennis event in Barcelona (Spain) with Canadian Robert Shaw. This is Davidson’s 32nd career doubles title and his second of this season. Davidson also progressed to the singles semifinals.

Finn Broadbent: The 22-year-old won the quad doubles title alongside Canadian Mitch McIntrye at an ITF wheelchair tennis event in Padova (Italy). This is Broadbent’s fourth ITF doubles title and first since 2018. Broadbent was also a singles quarterfinalist.

Emerson Jones: The 15-year-old secured the girls’ singles title at an ITF J500 tournament in Milan (Italy), losing only a single set across her six matches. This is Jones’ seventh career ITF junior singles title and her second of the season.

Hayden Jones: The 17-year-old was a boys’ doubles finalist at an ITF J500 tournament in Milan (Italy) alongside Brit Charlie Robertson.

Ashton McLeod: The 16-year-old won the boys’ doubles title at an ITF J60 tournament in Dededo (Guam) with China’s Meng Fanming. This is a second title in as many weeks for McLeod, who was also a singles semifinalist.

Cooper Kose: The 14-year-old was crowned the boys’ singles champion at an ITF J30 tournament in Tabasco (Mexico). This is Kose’s first singles title on the ITF junior tour.

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