Tennis
Maya Joint: the future of tennis is here
The new face of Australian tennis and new Red Bull athlete is here to stay.
At 19 years old, Maya Joint, has already achieved what others dream of for an entire career: two WTA titles on different surfaces, Grand Slam wins and a catapult from No.684 to No.36 in the world rankings in less than two years.
The new Red Bull athlete, Maya Joint
© Ken Leanfore / Red Bull Content Pool
She was born in, not so far away, 2006 in Michigan, United States, in a family that has always been connected to racquet sports. Her father, Michael, is from Melbourne, Australia and was a professional squash player. Her mother, Katja, is from Germany and when she was younger she played tennis, squash and badminton.
Maya was called upon to make some very big decisions at a young age, as her love combined with her great talent for tennis made it clear early on that this would be her life plan.
At 16, in early 2023, she made her first big decision to set up base in Brisbane and represent Australia, as this was seen by her and those around her as the best choice for her career.
At No.36 in the world ranking, Maya Joint
© Ken Leanfore / Red Bull Content Pool
However, before 2023 was complete, she signed with the Texas Longhorns women's tennis team. As such, she was ready to return to the US permanently and study psychology - she would begin the program in the 2024-2025 academic season.
Before she could get started, however, another serious dilemma appeared before her. Still only 18, in August 2024, she celebrated her first main-draw victory at a Grand Slam, at the US Open, beating Laura Siegemund 6-4, 7-5. She was even a qualifier in that tournament, which means that a week before, she had won three consecutive US Open qualifiers.
By beating Siegemund, she was securing a significant amount of money, but also a big boost to her professional career. So, she made the difficult decision to stop her studies and dedicate herself to professional tennis. If she had stayed at university she would not have received the money, nor would she have been able to claim the great opportunities that would have come with a rise near the Top 100; she had been ranked No.111 in particular after the US Open, having started the season at No.684!
Having made the decision to turn to professional tennis, 2025 is essentially the first season of the young Australian tennis player's professional career. A season in which she has already won two WTA titles, the 250 in Rabat and the 250 in Eastbourne, on clay and grass respectively, proving that she is a player who can play equally well on all courts.
In mid-August, she spoke with great excitement that she is now a Red Bull athlete, "It's a dream come true. I am very excited to join the Red Bull team."
Maya Joint excited as a Red Bull athlete
© Ken Leanfore / Red Bull Content Pool
An association that couldn't have got off to a better start as the now 19-year-old athlete made another US Open win against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva to get back into the second round. There she was beaten by world No.9 and medal finalist Amanda Anisimova.
Joint then began her Asian swing from Seoul, South Korea, where she had a truly impressive tournament. She defeated rising star Linda Fruhvirtova, former Top 5 player and Grand Slam winner Sofia Kenin next, and the 12th ranked player in the world and 3rd seed in this tournament, Clara Tauson, to reach the semi-finals. There, she was stopped by the great Iga Swiatek of 6 Grand Slam titles, who also won the trophy.
After this recent success, Joint moved up to No.36 in the world rankings, again improving her career high. And there is certainly more to come for the "Ginger Ninja", as she is nicknamed, obviously because of her natural colours and her speed on court.
"The journey I've been on over the last year has been crazy, but also exciting. It's cool to be able to play on the big stages against these players. These are the players I was watching on TV until a while ago and it makes me realize that now someone is watching me on TV!"