Sam Stosur cannot remember the last time Australian tennis had such an impressive group of women emerging together.
The 2011 US Open champion is Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain these days, so she has extra motivation to help usher through the next wave of talent – and loves what she sees.
Gold Coast’s Emerson Jones is the world junior No.1. Credit: Getty Images
Maya Joint, 18, Talia Gibson, 20, Taylah Preston, 19, and world junior No.1 Emerson Jones, 16, are on the frontline not only for the future but quite possibly the present.
Throw in Olivia Gadecki, 22, and relative veteran Kim Birrell, 26 – who became Australia’s top player after reaching the Brisbane International quarter-finals last week – and there is suddenly overflowing optimism in the Ash Barty afterlife.
Loading
Former world No.1 Barty is almost three years retired, while Ajla Tomljanovic, Daria Saville and Storm Hunter are on the wrong side of 30, so there is a demand for someone new.
“Everyone always said if one can break through, then the rest will start to actually believe it,” Stosur told this masthead.
“I think having the likes of Kim [Birrell] do so well [in Brisbane] – beating a top-10 player, then backing it up the next day against the No.35-ranked player – can inspire everyone else to try and get that bit more out of themselve
Read More