Maya Joint has been taught a brutal tennis lesson a week out from the Australian Open after the rising star was thumped by Polish champion Iga Swiatek to give her country a 1-0 lead at the United Cup.
Swiatek lost the opening game of the evening but was unstoppable from there as she blitzed her 19-year-old opponent 6-1 6-1 to put the women’s tour on notice ahead of the first grand slam of the year.
The world No.2 has never won in Melbourne but that could change in 2026 as she looks to add to her six majors, with Swiatek in blistering form on a scorching day in Sydney.
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There was a moment at 2-1 at the change of ends in the first set where she appeared to be in tears, but there was no apparent injury and the extreme heat didn’t affect her as she powered on.
She played at a speed and intensity that Joint simply couldn’t match, with few players on tour able to go with her when she’s in this sort of form.
Joint enjoyed a breakout 2025 campaign but has started the new year on the back foot after illness kept her out of Australia’s first match, with the world No.32 losing both of her singles matches since returning to the court.
She won’t have to play the top stars in the opening rounds of her home slam, but Friday’s result is a sign she still has things to work on when she comes up against the biggest names on the planet.
Joint will learn plenty from the loss, with Australia now hoping Alex de Minaur wins his singles match to keep the tie alive, with the winner to face defending champions team USA in Saturday’s semi-final.
De Minaur is up against former world No.6 Hubert Hurkacz, who’s in red-hot form after spending six months sidelined with injury.
Hurkacz, currently ranked 83rd, beat world No.3 Alexander Zverev a few days ago, if that’s any indication as to the prolific nick he’s in.
Then, if required, it’ll be Storm Hunter and John-Patrick Smith in the mixed doubles for the Aussies against Swiatek and Hurkacz for a spot in the semi-finals against the Americans.
World no.6 De Minaur, meanwhile, who’s hoping to again put his stamp on the world stage in the Australian Open later this month, rebounded from a season-opening loss to Casper Ruud to beat young Czechia sensation Jakub Menšík.
“Obviously I didn’t start the year the way I wanted to, but I tried to not take that match too much into account,” de Minaur said after his efforts helped Australia progress to the quarter-finals.
“I thought Casper played really well, but something that I’ve done really well in my career is bouncing back, so I’m very happy with the way I bounced back (against Menšík).”
The $17 million United Cup tournament is worth a maximum of 500 ranking points.
— with Fox Tennis
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