Emma Raducanu will face one of Australia’s rising stars, Maya Joint, in the second round of the Eastbourne Open after they claimed contrasting wins at the WTA 250 event.

2021 US Open winner Raducanu overcame a sluggish opening set and an early break in the second set to defeat Ann Li 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1 while Joint claimed an impressive 7-5, 6-2 victory over former world No 2 and three-time Grand Slam runner-up Ons Jabeur.

The duo will now meet for the second time in their careers and in 2025 at Eastbourne following their clash at the Italian Open in May.

What Happened In Rome?

The 19-year-old Joint came through qualifying to book her spot in the main draw and she put up a good fight against Raducanu as she took the match to a decider before the British player won 7-5, 6-7 (1-7), 6-3.

“I think the level was really high today, Maya played so aggressive,” Raducanu said on Sky Sports after the match. “I’m really proud of how I came through.

She added: “I found it so hard this morning, the wait and the rain and the delay. Really proud of how I came back in the match.”

The 22-year-old Brit went on to reach the fourth round of the WTA 1000 tournament before losing against Coco Gauff in straight sets.

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But Who Is Maya Joint?

Joint had the option of representing three countries as she was born in Michigan in the United States to an Australian father and a German mother.

She opted to represent her father’s country of birth and she also followed in his footsteps in terms by going down the professional sporting route as Michael Joint is a pro squash player based in Detroit.

Although Joint made her Grand Slam debut as an 18-year-old at the 2024 US Open last August, she only turned professional in December last year.

And that was significant as it meant she had to forfeit her prize money from the tournament due to American NCCA rules.

Joint was studying at the University of Texas and under National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) rules, college students are not eligible to receive prize money that doesn’t cover their “actual and necessary” expenses.

Having reached the second round at Flushing Meadows, she was due to earn $140,000, but the bulk of that was forfeited due to the regulation.

“The money is gone… it’s immensely disappointing,” Joint’s attorney Jason Miller said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Joint was okay with losing the money at the time as she stated: “I decided a long time ago that I wanted to go to college.

“I wasn’t really expecting to this far, but if I go to college, I get my scholarship spot. If I do decide to go professional, I can always come back on scholarships, which is a big, big deal.”

From Amateur To First Title

But her US Open run did pave the way for her to go professional as she opted to forgo her college career to focus on tennis late in 2024.

Joint enjoyed success during the first few months of 2025 as she made her top 100 breakthrough in March, but there was more to come.

Two months after reaching No 85 in the WTA Rankings, Joint – who turned 19 in April – won her maiden title as she lifted the Moroccan Open trophy.

And there were double celebrations in Morocco in May as she also won her maiden doubles title as she partnered Oksana Kalashnikova to lift the trophy.

Her singles title run resulted in a jump to No 53 and she currently sits at a career-high No 51 in the rankings.