Merida, Mexico, 27 February 2025 | Matt Trollope

Maya Joint has produced the best performance of her blossoming career, allowing Donna Vekic just three games as she stormed into the WTA quarterfinals in Merida, Mexico.

Joint’s 6-1 6-2 win over the No.5 seed marks her first win over a top-20 player, and propels her into the last eight at a tour-level tournament for the second time, after the Hobart International in January.

TEENAGE DREAMING

18 year old and qualifier Maya Joint defeats Vekic 6-1, 6-2 and is into the next round in Merida! #MeridaOpen pic.twitter.com/fhu398RvZF

— wta (@WTA) February 27, 2025

But while Hobart is a 250-level event, this is her first WTA quarterfinal at 500-level, a result boosting the 18-year-old’s live ranking to world No.83.

She began the tournament in qualifying and has now won four consecutive matches, surrendering just 15 games across four dominant performances.

“I think her game style suits my game style, and I really like these courts and the atmosphere. Just liked everything about tonight,” said Joint, who next faces Elina Avanesyan.

“Feels amazing… I’ve been in Merida once before, so I love coming back here.”

It had already been a breakthrough week for the young Aussie, whose first-round main draw win over Julia Grabher ensured a top-100 debut in next week’s WTA rankings.

This makes her just the second teenager inside the top 100 behind 17-year-old phenom Mirra Andreeva, the world No.9.

2 – Since the introduction of the Tier format in 1990, Maya Joint has become only the second Australian teenager to concede three or fewer games in victory over a WTA top 20 opponent, along with Jelena Dokic. Rare.#MeridaOpenAKRON | @WTAMeridaOpen1 @WTA @WTA_insider

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 27, 2025

Joint’s progress also has ensured another milestone for Australian women’s tennis.

By emulating Alja Tomljanovic and Daria Saville as WTA quarterfinalists this week, it’s the first time in more than seven years that three Australian women have reached tour-level quarterfinals in the same week.

MORE: Resurgent Tomljanovic, Saville into WTA quarterfinals

Joint joins Saville in the Merida quarterfinals, while Tomljanovic has reached the same stage in Austin, Texas.

Back in October 2017, in Hong Kong, Saville, Sam Stosur and Lizette Cabrera all advanced to the last eight. Saville went on to reach the final.

More notably, this week marks the first time since 2010 there are three Australians appearing in WTA quarterfinals across multiple events in the same week.

4 – Since 2020, Maya Joint has become the fourth teenager to concede three or fewer games en route to victory over a WTA top 20 opponent after Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva. Wow. #MeridaOpenAKRON | @WTAMeridaOpen1 @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/I3pNbBQPaW

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) February 27, 2025

Almost 15 years ago, in July 2010, Stosur advanced to the Stanford quarterfinals at the same time Anastasia Rodionova and Jarmila Wolfe (then Gajdosova) reached the quarterfinals in Istanbul.

Kimberly Birrell came incredibly close to guaranteeing four Aussie quarterfinalists in the same week on the WTA Tour for the first time since 1987.

Yet the Aussie No.1 fell in three tight sets in Austin to Ena Shibahara, who booked a quarterfinal meeting with Tomljanovic.

Should Tomljanovic prevail, she is projected to join Birrell, Joint and Olivia Gadecki in the top 100, which would represent the first time four Australian women have been inside this bracket at the same time since 2019.