Islamabad, June 30, 2025: Maya Joint has firmly established herself as Australia’s emerging tennis sensation by clinching her second WTA trophy within a month, just ahead of her Wimbledon debut.
The gifted 19-year-old saved four match points in an intense and high-level deciding set tie-break – even recovering from two mini-breaks while trailing 2-5 – to edge out left-handed Filipino Alexandra Eala in the Eastbourne final.
A final backhand winner sealed her hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12-10) triumph, as Joint collapsed on the grass in celebration, becoming the first Australian to win the Eastbourne title in its 50-year history.
Eala, 20, was visibly emotional after the youngest Eastbourne final, in terms of combined age, since 1981.
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“I’m thrilled and really relieved,” Joint expressed. “It was a tough battle. I’m proud I stayed focused and fought my way back.”
Joint, who began last year ranked outside the top 700, will now rise to a career-best No.41. She previously fell in the French Open’s first round, just a day after winning in Rabat.
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This time, she hopes to stay longer at the All England Club, though her draw pits her against 19th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova. “I’ve seen the draw, but I’ve never faced her,” she noted.
Despite a first-round loss in Nottingham qualifying and shaky training sessions, she adapted quickly to grass.
Joint and Russia’s Mirra Andreeva will be the only teenagers in the WTA top 50 next week. Sixteen-year-old Emerson Jones and Talia Gibson also aim to make their mark at Wimbledon.
