Emerson Jones, 16, is the world No. 1 female junior tennis player. Her brother Hayden, 18, wrapped his final year on the junior male circuit at No. 13. To top it off, the Gold Coast siblings were last month named Australian male and female junior players of 2024.
Emerson and Hayden Jones training on the Gold Coast: the siblings will start competing on the men and women’s tour this year.Credit: Paul Harris
Emerson: My earliest memory of Hayden is from when I was five. He’d always played cricket with Dad at the local park in Coomera, but then suddenly he was on the tennis court giving that a try. I’d be out there every time, too, chasing balls on the synthetic grass and basically hanging around.
Hayden: Emerson was always adventurous. I remember we would play on the trampoline, and I was cautious, going up and down, but she was fearless, doing all these silly flips. She also loved playing with dolls, dressing them up, and would try to cut their hair – which always went terribly. We had a dog, and she would dress him up in tutus and tiaras to make him look like a princess. She loved junk food and was always stealing muffins and lollies from the cupboard. We called her the cookie monster because she would clean us out.
Emerson: Hayden and I used to fight a lot. He would steal something – a toy, maybe – just to make me angry, and he used to tease me a lot, too. When we hit the tennis ball together, he would get annoyed at me if I didn’t hit it properly. That would start a fight that could last for half an hour, or until Mum stepped in to stop us. My parents tell me that once I shoved his head into the mailbox.
Emerson: “Hayden cares for everyone and anyone, feeling for people he doesn’t even know.” Credit: Paul Harris
Hayden: Emerson has always been a little bit scary. She used to get super annoyed over small stuff, until she snapped, but maybe that was my fault. It was funny, I guess, but she can be pretty fiery.
Emerson: Hayden always looked out for me. At school he would come and check on me to make sure I was OK. I saw him in Cairns once when he was playing the men’s tournament – and his focus would have all been on that – but he stopped to ask me if I needed anything. Hayden cares for everyone and anyone, feeling for people he doesn’t even know.
Hayden: We both liked tennis because it was about learning something new – a different shot or movement. So many solo sports are repetitive, and in team sports you’re relying on other people.
Emerson: I didn’t really like playing tennis at the start. I just wanted to hit every ball as hard as I could. I didn’t care where it went. But I started to enjoy it when I was competing in tournaments, around age seven. Winning felt good. Both our parents were sporty [Mum Loretta Harrop won a silver medal in triathlon at the Athens Olympics; Dad Brad Jones played high-level local AFL). It was fun to win trophies.
Hayden: The biggest trouble Emerson had in tennis was trying to score. She just couldn’t understand love, deuce, advantage. When she went to tournaments, the other girls would cheat. She’d ask, “What’s the score?” and they’d say, “I’m winning”, and she’d believe them. In the end, to try and help teach her, we started playing skipping games where she would have to call out the points. She still struggles sometimes!
Emerson: “I can say, ‘I’m a world champion’, which is fantastic. Hayden did tap me on the back to say I should be happier than I was.”Credit: Paul Harris
Emerson: Hayden and I were on the road from an early age playing competitive tennis, and when we started travelling together we really started getting along. We went to China last year – the whole family – for the ITF Masters, one of the biggest junior tournaments in the world, featuring the top eight junior girls and boys. I’d been to Hong Kong before but never Chengdu [where the tournament is held every year]. It was this massive city [21 million people], and the tournament organisers took us to see pandas, and brought people in to show us how to make Chinese tea. Hayden did well but came sixth after losing a couple of tight matches. The boys were really good.
Hayden: China was awesome. We did a couple of interviews together because we were the only brother-sister combination there. We did some calligraphy, which was fun. And Emerson won the tournament!
Emerson: I didn’t know what to feel about winning. Mum tried to get me to be a bit more excited, but I didn’t feel over the moon. More relieved. But I can say, “I’m a world champion”, which is fantastic. Hayden did tap me on the back to say I should be happier than I was: “You’ve done really well and you should be proud.”
Hayden: I like travelling for tennis, but in small bunches. Sometimes I can be over it. I like being at home and doing all the small things: going surfing, fishing, having a home-cooked meal, just being around family.
Emerson: The travel part definitely isn’t as fun when you’ve been away from home for four months, but I’m also lucky to be a 16-year-old travelling the world. It’s amazing to experience that instead of sitting in a classroom all day. I’ve been to England, France, China, America – all of Europe really, and most of Asia. Japan is so clean. I loved going to Nice; it was such a pretty place.
Hayden’s biggest strength as a player is his aggression, says Emerson. “He takes the ball very early.”Credit: Paul Harris
Hayden: I always knew Emerson was really good, but – as good as she is now – I’ve always thought that she would become better later. I thought it would take her a while to get going.
Emerson: I always knew Hayden was really great at tennis. Everyone used to talk about him, and he was winning all these tournaments. I loved how hard he hit the ball, and I wanted to hit it just as hard.
Hayden: Emerson has three things that really work for her as a player. One, she’s explosive and powerful with her shots. Two, she’s super fast and moves really well. But the third thing is the biggest: she doesn’t get too up or too down. Nothing bothers her. I’d say her serve needs some improvement, and tactically on court she doesn’t think that much, but other than that she’s in a great place.
Emerson: Hayden’s strength as a player is aggression. He takes the ball very early. He’s got a good serve. He’s got good hands at the net. Solid forehands and backhands. His weakness is the same as mine: clay. The surface just doesn’t suit us. We love grass.
Hayden: Emerson is quite easy-going. She’s always giggling about something, and it’s helpful to be able to muck around like that and have fun when you’re playing, because it keeps you relaxed. I’d definitely say I’m more organised, and probably a bit more intense.
Emerson: Hayden is very confident. Let’s say he’s struggling in a tournament; he always finds a way to pick himself up! He always says to Mum, even after a loss, that he’s feeling positive about the next match. He’s also pretty methodical. Racquets are ready, strings and grips checked. He always looks immaculate before playing tennis. Outside of the game, he relaxes by watching AFL footy with Dad. They follow North Melbourne, which don’t win much, so they struggle but they both have fun watching.
Hayden: Emerson is a pretty normal teenager. She loves doing beauty care, always working on her nails. She loves listening to sad music, especially Olivia Rodrigo. She doesn’t like sharing. I’ll ask to borrow her phone charger and she can’t spare it for 10 minutes. I’ll ask her for a chip out of a packet – and nup, she doesn’t want to give me one. Very greedy.
Emerson: For the past year or so, Hayden and I haven’t trained together much. Mum stays with me in Brisbane, and Dad stays with Hayden on the Gold Coast. I don’t love that, but we always go home on Wednesdays and weekends. Then we just try to go to the beach all day. If he’s surfing, I’m tanning.
Hayden: Family time for us is watching movies, playing some card games like Skip Bo, or playing board games like Catan, but Emerson doesn’t always join in. She sits on her phone a fair bit, but at least she sits near us!
Emerson: There’s a bit of a change coming up for us. Hayden is going onto the men’s tour, and I’m transitioning into the women’s. We’ll be in Australia this summer, then Europe for the southern winter. I don’t really know what’ll happen in the future, or how fast we’ll get our rankings up, but hopefully we’re training and travelling together all over the world.
Hayden: Emerson has a super cool and exciting summer coming up, and she could have a really amazing time in the big Australian tournaments. I can’t wait to see what she does.
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