World’s best teen issues a compelling message to an Australian phenom

2 months ago 19

The world’s leading young tennis star has issued a message to Australian teenage phenom Emerson Jones, imploring her to keep her composure and ignore the hype beginning to surround her name.

Speaking after her 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Queenslander Olivia Gadecki in the second round of the Brisbane International, top 10 sensation Mirra Andreeva revealed the recipe for success, that has made her the hottest prospect on the international stage.

Mirra Andreeva, pictured during the French Open last year, overcame Queensland’s Olivia Gadecki at the Brisbane International.

The 18-year-old Russian became the youngest WTA 1000 winner at the Dubai Championships last year, before her run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals briefly thrust her inside the top five.

Those feats followed a 2024 season that included a French Open semi-final berth and a doubles silver medal at the Paris Olympics shortly after her 17th birthday.

“Before I won the title [in Dubai], I was feeling very down. By me not expecting much from myself, I started to play well and then started to believe in myself and … after that, I tried to carry on with the same mindset,” Andreeva said.

Jones, 17, has been a name on Australia’s radar since her shock win against 37th-ranked Wang Xinyu at the 2025 Adelaide International – her first WTA win – and the fanfare only grew upon her opening round defeat of world No.42 Tatjana Maria on Pat Rafter Arena.

Her potential has even drawn comparisons with three-time grand slam champion Ash Barty.

Andreeva knows all too well about the pressures that come from expectation at such a young age, and she issued some telling advice to Jones and the nation.

“She’s playing very well at such a young age, and I just think if I had a chance to tell her something it’s not to focus on what other people say,” Andreeva said.

“You just have to focus on that you are who you are, and you’re going to have your own career. She’s Emerson Jones, she’s not going to be the next Ash Barty … she’s going to have her own career, and I think she should focus on making her own path in tennis.

“I can say I did feel pressure from a lot of people, especially when I won tournaments. I did feel the pressure people were expecting me to win basically every tournament I would be playing and that was not easy.

“But last year I learned a lot about how to deal with the pressure, how to not pay attention to what people say and how to talk about this.”

While Jones was ultimately overpowered in Brisbane’s second round - succumbing 6-4, 6-1 to world No.17 Liudmila Samsonova - there were signs as she took an early 3-0 lead that her powerful back-court stroke play would be a weapon to be reckoned with come the Australian Open.

In what was only her second clash with a top 20 opponent, the dynamic wunderkind was satisfied with the trajectory she was on, despite the expectations which have been placed on her.

“It doesn’t really put any pressure on me. Everyone compares me to Ash and all that, but you know, Ash had her own journey and I think she did absolutely amazing, and it’d be amazing to achieve what she did,” Jones said.

“But I just kind of focus on myself, and I think that definitely works for me. I’m super happy with how I played and how I performed.

“She [Samsonova] knows this level way higher than me, so I think I did really well to come out and put myself in a good position to get a good chance in the first set. It’s going to give more confidence than anything.”

Liudmila Samsonova proved too much for Emerson Jones to overcome.

While Andreeva made an immediate impression, Samsonova took time throughout her teenage years to find her feet. She made her professional debut as a 15-year-old on the ITF tour in 2013, but did not make her maiden grand slam appearance for six years.

The 27-year-old - whose experience was on show against Jones to convert six of eight break point chances - waited until 2021 to win her maiden WTA title, and has gone on to win four more while reaching last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals.

For Samsonova, her turning point came when she found a team she trusted to bring into her corner.

“I was travelling Europe alone, I didn’t have money to go to America or Australia. I was so motivated, I wanted it so much to become a professional, but I believed in myself,” Samsonova told this masthead.

“Before entering the top 100 for the first time I built my first team, and that was the beginning of something - people who were working just for me, and we were working well. I started to working differently, and the results came after six months.

“I was lucky because at some point some people arrived, good ones, but I also made some choices that were difficult to say no - people who came to you and would say ‘I’ll give you 100,000 Euros, but you give me back’.

“It’s hard for a young girl to say no, but I was lucky.”

Samsonova implored Jones to lean on her trusted and honest support networks extensively, believing if she could have afforded a team earlier she would have attained her current heights sooner.

“Having the good people by your side who can show you the road and to see that the project is long is really important to me,” she said.

“When you are young, I think it’s tough to manage everything - everything is more emotional, so it’s tough. If you don’t have people around who can help you to see the things in the proper way is tough.

“You don’t need to stop the work, you don’t need to think you are already like God, you have to keep working to put motivation in and to believe in your dreams.

“Stay humble and keep working because it’s in a moment like that you can just drop.”