MELBOURNE: Few perceive the stress created by the hype of juvenile success like Jelena Dokic, so the previous world No.4, who shocked tennis with a run to the Wimbledon semi finals as a 17-year-old, has no need to make headline grabbing predictions about teen prodigy Emerson Jones.
Jones, who at 16 is the world’s No.1 junior and final week broke by way of for her first WTA Tour victory by beating prime 50 participant Wang Xinyu, will make her Australian Open primary draw debut on Tuesday, with the expectant eyes of a nation already on her.
Over the previous week she has drawn headlines questioning if she would be the participant to fill the incomparable Ash Barty’s footwear, with ladies’s tennis in Australia having fallen right into a little bit of a gap because the then dominant world No.1 retired in 2022 on the age of 25.
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Placing that form of expectation on a 16-year-old is supremely unfair however such was her poise towards established and extremely ranked opponents in Adelaide it is not possible to maintain a lid on the concept that Jones goes to be good. Maybe even superb.
Even a cautious appraisal from Dokic concludes that Jones may be “wonderful” however the 9 commentator cannot realistically envisage the Queenslander toppling her first spherical opponent, world No.6 Elena Rybakina, after they do battle on Margaret Court docket Area on Tuesday afternoon.
“It is a large alternative, however let’s not neglect she’s 16, it is a robust draw, she performs the sixth seed, Elena Rybakina, nevertheless it’s nearly getting expertise at this level,” Dokic informed Vast World of Sports activities’ The Morning Serve.
“She’s going to get on the market and compete, that is who she is, and need to compete laborious and nonetheless imagine she will win, which is strictly what you need to do, not simply be pleased to be there, however this can be a course of, let’s not neglect once you’re 16 it is about enhancing your sport, not at all times about these wins, she must get the expertise as nicely.”
Whatever the end result of Jones’ grand slam debut, 2025 shapes as a large yr in her improvement as she makes an attempt to push up the rankings from her present place at 293.
However Dokic warns that it will be a mistake for her to do an excessive amount of too quickly, with the rigours of a full calendar of journey for a participant of such a young age having the potential to wreck her long-term prospects.
It is going to be essential, Dokic says, to strike the best steadiness.
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Emerson Jones performs a forehand in her win over Xinyu Wang on the Adelaide Worldwide. Getty
“After the Australian summer season of tennis, the yr is lengthy, she’s solely 16, she will solely play a restricted quantity of WTA tournaments though she’s near getting inside the highest 200, so scheduling and that call about what she performs is vital,” Dokic stated.
“… I’d nonetheless, to be sincere with you, combine juniors with some decrease ITF tournaments, some WTA tournaments if she will get into grand slam qualifying, but additionally do not be on the market on the street for too lengthy, though you do need to play greater than perhaps 10 tournaments a yr and that is the steadiness.”
Dokic added that it was “regular” to make some errors with reference to discovering the best scheduling steadiness as a younger participant and inspired Jones and her crew to experiment and embrace the teachings that arrive when a mistake is made.
“I at all times say at such a younger age, concentrate on enhancing your self as an individual, enhancing your self as a participant, enhancing your strengths and weaknesses, but additionally take a look at the long-term plan, it isn’t concerning the subsequent 12 months, it is concerning the subsequent 10 or 15 years of her profession.
“Simply keep grounded, do your factor, get pleasure from your tennis, take a while at dwelling as nicely, and I feel having a very supportive community goes to be essential as a result of though she’s doing nicely now, there will be some robust years, all of us undergo it, so it’ll be actually essential that she has a help system that is there for her.”
Whereas nailing her schedule shapes as a vital step in Jones’ improvement, Dokic additionally inspired the younger gun to look to the unbelievable rise of Italian world No.4 Jasmine Paolini for an instance of what may be achieved by a participant who does not have a naturally highly effective body.
“I feel she may be wonderful. I might immediately say she may be prime 100, no drawback. Once I see somebody who has such an awesome angle, who competes so nicely, who strikes so nicely,” Dokic stated.
“She’s not huge in stature however she makes up for it with how dynamic she is. I see some similarities and perhaps she ought to watch her a bit and base her sport on her a bit – Jasmine Paolini who’s the world No.4 and a grand slam finalist.
“She may not be capable to have the most important serve however she’ll be capable to make up for it in different areas. Let’s hope she stays wholesome, damage free and retains doing what she’s doing as a result of she’s performed so nicely in juniors.”
