News & Features

by Colette Lewis, 27 November 2024

Special from Zoo Tennis

Six months after the University of Texas women had claimed their second consecutive NCAA team title in 2022, blue chip junior Maya Joint verbally committed to the Longhorns. More than two years later, despite a current WTA ranking of 118 and nearly $300,000 in prize money earned, the 18-year-old from Grosse Pointe, Michigan remains steadfastly focused on bringing another NCAA team title back to Austin in the spring.

After reaching a career high of 20 in the ITF Junior Circuit rankings at the beginning of this year, Joint's focus turned to improving her WTA ranking. With a record of 60-27 in professional events, that ranking has gone from 1208 at the end of October 2023 to a recent high of 110, advancing to 13 pro quarterfinals during that span.

Her rapid rise coincides with a decision to spend six months in Australia training with her Australian coach, former University of Tennessee doubles All-American and later Volunteers' assistant coach Chris Mahony. After reaching the final round of qualifying at the 2024 Australian Open, Joint won her first ITF women's World Tennis Tour title in February at a W75 in Australia, then embarked on a demanding travel schedule in the United States and Europe, which saw her thrive on both clay and hard courts.

Joint broke through to the public eye with her US Open performance this summer, where she won three qualifying matches and her first-round contest before dropping a 6-4, 6-0 decision to No. 14 seed Madison Keys.

The more than $146,000 she earned in New York posed a dilemma for Joint, who has represented her father's native country Australia since May of 2023. A party to the lawsuit filed by North Carolina's Reese Brantmeier challenging the NCAA's rule prohibiting student-athletes from accepting prize money in excess of expenses, Joint had hoped that a preliminary injunction would prohibit the NCAA from enforcing that rule. But by the deadline for claiming her US Open prize money, no ruling on the injunction had been made, resulting in Joint forfeiting the money to retain her collegiate eligibility. A month later, the motion was denied, leaving the NCAA rule in place while Brantmeier's lawsuit proceeds.

Although Joint elected not to compete for Texas in the collegiate fall season, she will represent Australia in the Master'U BNP Paribas collegiate team event this weekend in France, and will begin playing for Texas after concluding play at the 2025 Australian Open.

At this month's WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, Michigan, I sat down with Joint to discuss her swift rise up the WTA rankings, the difference between junior and pro tennis, playing in Arthur Ashe stadium, her reluctance to pass on collegiate tennis, and how recent college stars have inspired her.

COLETTE LEWIS: How would you describe your last 13 months?

MAYA JOINT: It was pretty crazy. I wasn't expecting to get this far this fast. Shot up the rankings, I don't know how. It was an amazing year that I had; got to train in Australia for six months and that's why I got so much better. Yeah, it's been crazy.

CL: Was there a particular win or a tournament that convinced you that you belong on the highest level?

MJ: I don't think so. I got a lot of wild cards for pro tournaments when I was in Australia, and I think just playing with those high-level people all the time just improved my game drastically. It was just the consistency of having high-level matches gradually making me better. I don't think there was a specific time when I thought, ‘oh, this is going well.’

CL: How important has your coach been to this jump you've made?

MJ: He's the whole reason. He's been so amazing with me. He's worked with me on tennis and the mental side as well, just all aspects of my game, it's been great.

He played college at Tennessee, then coached at Tennessee. When he went back to Australia, he was with Tennis Australia, kind of the head of it. He decided he wanted to do a coaching position, and it was perfect timing, because I was looking for a coach. That worked really well. I'm his only student at the moment.

CL: What did you gain from the experience of competing in qualifying at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year?

MJ: I got the wild card for AO qualies and that was really special; it was my first grand slam and I wasn't expecting to do anything. I thought I was going to lose first round pretty fast. I surprised myself, won two matches and I lost a close one in the third match. That gave me confidence, made me realize that I can hang in there. Wimbledon was just a great experience. I had two very good matches, on grass, obviously a very different, more difficult surface. But I had played so many pro tournaments all year, I was kind of used to that game already.

CL: How would you describe the game you see at that level?

MJ: Compared to junior tennis, the players all hit the ball deeper and more accurately, in the corners. They're also more consistent. I remember thinking, when I was going from the juniors to the pros, that the shots I would hit in juniors that would usually be winners or a setup ball for me were brought back in a very good way. There, every point was a battle, compared to juniors, where sometimes you'd have a couple of easier games.

CL: What's the biggest strength of your game?

MJ: It's always been my backhand. I like my backhand a lot. It's always been my strength, in juniors as well, so I'm just trying to find ways, shot patterns, to play my favorite shot.

CL: You made another huge jump at the US Open, qualifying and making the second round. How did you feel about your performance in New York?

MJ: It felt great when I got through qualies. It was a crazy feeling, that I was in the same draw as (Aryna) Sabalenka. I didn't feel like I belonged in that draw at all. It just felt so weird, I don't know. Against (Laura) Siegemund, I was pretty nervous, it was my first (WTA-level) main draw match, but I'd also come off three matches. I felt like I was playing well, but I did get pretty nervous towards the end of the match. I was like, 'oh my gosh, I could win, be in the second round'. That was crazy to me.

CL: What was it like to play Madison Keys on Ashe in the second round?

MJ: Yeah, that was crazy. It was a very weird feeling, walking out from that hallway with the cameras. The stands weren't full, but there were still a lot of people there and it was very loud, a lot of movement around, a lot of distractions. But I think I handled it well. It was super exciting, being on the same court as Madison Keys; I just wanted to ask for an autograph. I didn't think I'd have to play her. But it was really fun and I thought the crowd, I thought they'd be a lot more one-sided, but they were nice.

CL: How was playing against the Keys pace?

MJ: Especially in the second set, I think she got looser, more relaxed, and she started hitting the balls very hard; her first serves and her second serve kicker started getting up above my head. Yeah, I really didn't have a chance in the second set, but it was very fun to be out on the court.

CL: Did you find the persistent questions at the Open regarding your decision to enroll at Texas difficult?

MJ: Every time I did an interview, they would ask me that question, multiple times. I gave the same answer every time: that I was still going. Nobody believed me, so that's why they kept asking; they didn't believe I actually would go. But yep, I'm in school, enrolled.

CL: But you decided not to play in the fall?

MJ: There's nothing in the fall except individuals. And even if I were to win the NCAAs, I wouldn't get the wild card.

CL: Are you in Austin now?

MJ: I haven't been in Austin that much—I've been traveling and playing a lot of tournaments—but I knew going in I was going to try to play as many pro tournaments as I could this fall, because I know I won't be able to play as many in the spring. The school has been very flexible and worked with me. I have two online classes and two in person.

CL: What are your academic interests?

MJ: I'm a psychology major and I have criminology as a minor. I have one psychology class at the moment, but most of them are just the core stuff.

CL: So the prize money you earned didn't change your initial enthusiasm for playing in college?

MJ: It was a lot more money than I thought I would be getting, but I don't really have anything to spend it on, other than tennis. The college pays for my tournaments when I go, so it's kind of the same.

CL: Do you have someone who is handling the endorsement side of things for you?

MJ: Yes, I have an agent. I work with him, I'm sponsored by Elite Eleven clothing brand, it's Australian, so he's helped me with that. He always goes through the Texas compliance to make everything's allowed. I don't know all the players he works with but mainly Australians.

CL: What about college tennis appeals to you?

MJ: I love the aspect of playing on a team, and having all your friends support you, all the time, playing on the courts next to you. I want to cheer on my teammates and have a second family, talk to them, go back to them. I loved my visit there two years ago, and I love the girls on the team; two of my friends that I had before are on the team and I've gotten to know all the girls now.

I can always go back and finish my degree if I want to, which is a huge thing. You never know what can happen. The Texas family has been so great. All the coaches and support staff, the physios, school, it's been so great. And yes, it gives me something to fall back on when I'm done.

CL: Has the top 20 rise by Emma Navarro (Virginia) and now Diana Shnaider (NC State) made it a little bit easier to say I can wait, I can have the team experience I want?

MJ: I think they've set a great example. Peyton Stearns and Lulu Sun, as well. They got to have that experience and they matured during that time (at Texas), I'm sure. Then they were ready to go on the tour. I think it's great for more people who are in the recruiting stage now to see that it's not just this or the other, that they can do both.

CL: Is winning the NCAA team title a goal?

MJ: Yes, that's the goal, with Indoors as well, try to win everything. But NCAAs for sure; I think we can do it this year.

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About Colette Lewis

Colette Lewis has covered topflight U.S. and international junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Her work has appeared in Tennis magazine, the Tennis Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on Twitter, and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net. She was named Junior Tennis Champion for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.

Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the tournament's ustaboys.com website led her to establish ZooTennis, where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.