Melbourne, Australia, 21 October 2024 | Dan Imhoff

Queenslanders Kimberly Birrell and Emerson Jones have landed career breakthroughs in Asia, with Birrell notching her first WTA final in Osaka and Jones becoming the first Australian to claim the Junior ITF Finals in Chengdu.

The 26-year-old Birrell was forced to contest a rain-delayed semifinal and final an hour apart, first with a win over Japan’s Aoi Ito before she came up short against fellow qualifier Suzan Lamens 6-0 6-4.

Jones lived up to her top seeding at the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu after she claimed the highest-profile title of her fledgling career over Czech Laura Samson.

The 16-year-old backed up her win over junior US Open champion Mika Stojsavljevic with a 6-4 6-4 victory over the fifth seed.

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This week’s most outstanding performers also include …

Ellen Perez: The 29-year-old rebounded from a broken finger to reach her 23rd WTA doubles final of the season at the WTA 500 event in Ningbo, China. Top seeds Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez fell to Chinese-Dutch pair Yuan Yue and Demi Schuurs. “I’m really proud of her. She broke her finger a couple of weeks ago so the fact she could bounce back and make a final with that hindering her I think that’s something to be extremely proud of,” Melichar said.

Aleksandar Vukic: A third top-20 victory over top seed Frances Tiafoe sent the 29-year-old through to the third ATP semifinal of his career at the Almaty Open. Vukic triumphed 6-2 7-6(9) over the American for his second top-20 upset in as many events following his defeat of world No.9 Casper Ruud at the Shanghai Masters. Vukic succumbed to eventual champion Karen Khachanov in three sets in the semifinals.

Alex de Minaur: In his first event back since a hip injury flared again during the US Open six weeks ago, the 25-year-old reached the last eight at the ATP 250 event in Antwerp. The top seed succumbed to Frenchman Hugo Gaston in his eighth singles quarterfinal of the season.

Bernard Tomic: On the heels of his biggest final in six years at the Fairfield Challenger, the 31-year-old reached the quarterfinals of the Calgary Challenger. The result was enough to lift him back into the top 200 for the first time since February 2020.

Adam Walton: The 25-year-old reached the Shenzhen Challenger semifinals where he went down to American Mackenzie McDonald. It was only Walton’s second defeat from seven appearances in an ATP Challenger semifinal this season.

Georgia Campbell: The 15-year-old collected her equal biggest junior title at the J60 Lautoka event in Fiji. The second seed downed compatriot and fifth seed Charlotte Vanstone McGrath for her second J60 title following Darwin earlier this year.

Charlotte Vanstone McGrath: The 17-year-old reached her first junior final since Auckland last September at the J60 Lautoka event in Fiji. While she fell to Campbell, it was an improvement on J60 semifinals in Fiji in July and October.

Connor McEvoy: The 15-year-old reached his biggest junior final at the J60 Lautoka event in Fiji. His runner-up showing followed a semifinal in the preceding J60 event in Fiji a week ago.

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