De Minaur lauds young gun’s ‘unbelievable rise’ ahead of Australian Open.

Alex de Minaur and Maya Joint have only crossed paths a few times, but the pair have plenty in common.

They’re both quiet achievers coming off their best season yet, they both recently led their national teams – in the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, respectively – and they’re their country’s highest-ranked male and female players as we near the 2026 Australian Open.

But before they head to Melbourne Park for the first grand slam of the year, the pair will join forces for team Australia at the 2026 United Cup. The event, which starts on Friday, will be held across Perth and Sydney.

Australia are yet to lift the trophy in the four years since the tournament began, but the home nation will have its strongest singles pairing so far with de Minaur and Joint at the helm.

“Over the last year I was able to watch her unbelievable rise up the rankings,” de Minaur said of Joint’s 2025 season.

“It was honestly incredible to watch. Obviously we played the same tournaments, we crossed paths, and we got to chat a little bit in Washington, and she’s a great person, she’s playing some incredible tennis, and I’m super excited to share the court with her.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. She’s coming off her best year yet, and she’s definitely one to watch out for.”

Australian top 10
Table with 3 columns and 10 rows.
Player Year-end Rank Move
Maya Joint No.32 87
Daria Kasatkina No.37 −28
Ajla Tomljanovic No.83 2
Kimberly Birrell No.95 20
Priscilla Hon No.104 89
Talia Gibson No.136 −11
Astra Sharma No.156 93
Daria Saville No.163 −43
Maddison Inglis No.175 −14
Emerson Jones No.189 238

Joint’s rise has been meteoric. The 19-year-old has gone from being an Australian Open wildcard to a seeded player in a year, and will start the 2026 season ranked No.32 in the world – 86 places higher than where she started 2025.

The United Cup is an opportunity for Joint to make herself battle-ready for the Australian Open, with all players guaranteed at least two singles matches in the group stage.

De Minaur has also had an impressive year, reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the US Open. The 27-year-old from Sydney has represented Australia at every United Cup, and some of the best performances of his career have come at the tournament, including wins over Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz at the 2024 event in Perth.

Australian top 10
Table with 3 columns and 10 rows.
Player Year-end Rank Move
Alex de Minaur No.7 2
Alexei Popyrin No.54 −30
Adam Walton No.78 15
Aleksandar Vukic No.82 −14
Tristan Schoolkate No.100 68
James Duckworth No.106 −24
Jordan Thompson No.108 −82
Chris O’Connell No.114 −50
Rinky Hijikata No.127 −54
Bernard Tomic No.182 32

With the tennis season getting under way this week, there are a number of Australians in action in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane.

Russian-turned-Australian Daria Kasatkina will begin her first season Down Under as a permanent resident since switching allegiances in March 2025, and will be competing at the Brisbane International after stepping away from the sport for an extended break in October.

Kimberly Birrell, Talia Gibson and Ajla Tomljanovic are among the other Australian women to play in Brisbane, while Nick Kyrgios – who played in the Battle of the Sexes this week – will appear in the men’s draw along with Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton and Aleksandar Vukic.