Who is Emerson Jones? Australian prodigy is from family of athletes and admires Emma Raducanu

Ewan West 07 Jan 2026 3:30 PM

Emerson Jones serves

Australian teenager Emerson Jones made an impression at the 2026 Brisbane International, but who is the prodigious WTA Tour star?

Jones, who was competing as a wildcard in Brisbane, earned a convincing 6-3, 6-3 opening round victory over world No 43 Tatjana Maria.

The 17-year-old, who is ranked 147th, then fell 4-6, 1-6 to world No 17 Liudmila Samsonova in the second round at the WTA 500 event. She was competitive in the first set as she raced into a 3-0 lead and had a break point while leading 4-3.

Emerson Jones comes from a sporting family

Jones was born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia on 7 July 2008. She started playing tennis at the age of four at the Coomera Waters Recreation Club on the Gold Coast.

Her mother, Loretta Harrop, was a professional triathlete who won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Her father, Brad Jones, was a prominent Australian Rules footballer in the Queensland State League.

Emerson’s 19-year-old brother, Hayden, is also a promising tennis player who was ranked eighth in the ITF junior combined singles and doubles rankings in May 2024. Hayden Jones reached a career-high ATP ranking of 602nd in February 2025.

Emerson Jones’ standout Junior results

Emerson Jones has had a stellar Junior career, having played her first ITF Junior event shortly after her 13th birthday in 2021.

The Aussie was a runner-up at the Australian Open and Wimbledon Junior events in 2024, losing both finals to Renata Jamrichova.

She is currently ranked 17th in the ITF Junior Rankings, having reached world No 1 in September 2024.

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Emerson Jones’ professional career so far

Jones made her WTA Tour debut as a wildcard at the 2023 Hobart International, and she featured at the Australian Open as a wildcard in both 2024 and 2025.

She recorded her maiden tour-level win as a wildcard at the 2025 Adelaide International, upsetting 37th-ranked Wang Xinyu in the first round before falling to ninth-ranked Daria Kasatkina. Her win against Tatjana Maria in Brisbane this year was her second triumph on the WTA Tour.

The 17-year-old has won three ITF Circuit titles from the five finals she has reached.

Jones is currently at her career-high WTA ranking of 147th.

Emerson Jones’ ranking goal for 2026

Following her campaign at the 2026 Brisbane International, Jones revealed she is targeting breaking into the top 100 this year.

“Yeah, well, at the end of last year, my coach and I, we wanted to crack the top 150, so that was great that I got to do that right at the end,” Jones said at a press conference.

“So, yeah, definitely try to make the top 100 is for sure a goal that we’d love to, yeah, we’d love to crack, but I think, yeah, just the ranking comes with your results and everything, so I just got to keep focusing on improving my game and hopefully the ranking will come.”

Emerson Jones is a fan of Emma Raducanu

According to Jones’ bio on the Tennis Australia website, the player she most admires is 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu as she “likes the way” the Brit plays.

Who is Emerson Jones coached by?

Jones is coached by David Taylor, a renowned Australian coach who has worked with former WTA world No 1 players Martina Hingis and Ana Ivanovic, and US Open champion Sam Stosur.

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