Signs post-Barty drought is nearing end as teen phenom stuns veteran

Australia’s Kim Birrell has declared the nation’s next generation of prospects are ready to fill the four-year void left by Ash Barty, raising hopes grand slam runs are looming.

The 27-year-old, fresh off her 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over world No.71 Rebecca Sramkova in the opening round of the Brisbane International, has set her sights on mounting a compelling run to the second week of the Australian Open for the first time in her career.

Her proclamation came before Australian wunderkind, and fellow Gold Coast product, Emerson Jones shocked world No.42 veteran Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-3, with the 17-year-old seemingly brought to the cusp of tears as she enjoyed her first win on Pat Rafter Arena.

Jones and her German rival exchanged breaks throughout the first set, with the former’s maiden hold of serve coming to take a 4-3 lead. Her brutal backhand triggered her sprint home, which came into play again as she trailed 3-1 in the second set.

That backhand hand saved another break point, before she broke twice herself in a match in which she also struck 20 forehand winners to Maria’s one.

“Honestly, I am just super happy, this is honestly the best tournament, the best crowd, and I’m so happy my family got to come. This is honestly one of the best crowds I’ve ever played with, I’m so excited,” Jones said on court.

“To be honest, her game was a bit tricky for my game, but I’m so happy I got it done. She’s an amazing player, and very experienced - I don’t have that experience yet, but I’m so happy with how I played tonight.”

Earlier, Birrell was forced to overcome two slow starts on Pat Rafter Arena – losing the opening three games in each of the first two sets – to fight back with a series of down-the-line winners from deep in the court.

Birrell, who admitted to extra nerves on Monday, fist-pumped with both hands and screamed in pure jubilation on defeating Sramkova and setting up a second-round clash with world No.3 Amanda Anisimova.

Resilience has become embedded in Birrell’s DNA, with her breakout year of 2025 – one which ended with defeat in the final of the Chennai Open in November – coming on the back of an injury-plagued period.

While she rose to world No.60 in May, she has since fallen back outside the top 100, but is adamant she has the firepower to make an impression in Melbourne later this month.

“I have some big goals, but I’m going to really try not to focus on my ranking too much. I fell into that trap last year when I got to around 60 and kind of thought maybe I can get to 50 and beyond, and put a little bit too much pressure on myself,” Birrell said.

“I’m going to try stay really clear on what I’ve been working on, and keep my goals more based on tournaments and trying to reach the second week of grand slams and trying to get a [WTA] 250 [win] if I can, and not checking my ranking every day.”

While forced to reach the Australian Open through the qualifiers last year despite being the country’s top-ranked woman, Birrell will now be joined by a host of compatriots who enter the grand slam on the back of career-best years.

Teenage tearaway Maya Joint, currently with the Australian United Cup team, began last year outside the world’s top 100, and is now currently a grand slam seeding hope at No.32 having claimed a maiden pair of WTA titles.

Jones has shown the makings of a future star at just 17, while Daria Kasatkina (world No.40) and Ajla Tomljanovic (No.78) are genuine dark horses to shock some of the best at the Australian Open.

Since Barty’s retirement after winning the 2022 showcase, only Tomljanovic has reached a grand slam’s second week (Wimbledon and the US Open in 2022).

However, Birrell sensed that the narrative would soon be rewritten.

“I feel really excited to be part of the Aussie female contingent. I think there’s some really great young talented players coming through … it’s really cool we have that depth at the moment,” Birrell said.

“Last year I was very proud to be the first-ranked Aussie, but I knew there were reasons why some of the girls weren’t inside the top 100 due to injury and things like that.

“It’s an individual sport, but I like to see us as a bit of a team – especially with how much we travel throughout the year we do lean on each other.

“I’m excited to see what everyone can do.”

In last year’s Brisbane International, Birrell exhibited giant-killing tendencies – knocking off former world No.8 Emma Navarro (currently No.15) and Anastasia Potapova (formerly No.21).

Those same fighting traits were on show against Sramkova, saving five break points as her first serve strength came to the fore – serving at 80 per cent.

“I’ve been working on my serve quite a bit for the past month or so. I think it started towards the end of last year, and I had a little bit of a moment where I was getting quite frustrated with my serve,” Birrell said.

“At this level, the margins are so small, and I felt like that was the area I really needed to improve. A lot of it is mental for me, I’ve had some elbow problems, so it was just letting go and letting my arm go, using my legs and really going for it and believing in it.”

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