Elena Rybakina vs Emerson Jones Preview & Prediction | 2025 Australian Open | First Round
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Many eyes will be on this match as 16-year-old Australian Emerson Jones – who claimed her first tour win recently – takes on sixth seed Elena Rybakina in the first round.
Start date/time: Tuesday 14th January, 2025, UK – not before 2:10am / Monday 13th January, US ET – not before 9:10pm / US PT – not before 6:10pm
Venue: Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
Surface: Outdoor hard
How to watch on TV: UK – Eurosport / US – ESPN+
How to watch online: UK – Eurosport website & discovery+ / US – ESPN+ platforms
Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Elena Rybakina vs Emerson Jones ticket information
Elena Rybakina vs Emerson Jones Prediction
Sixth seed Elena Rybakina had an excellent first half of 2024 with three tournament victories at WTA 500 level, while she was the runner-up in a further four finals. However she was struck down with acute bronchitis prior to the Paris Olympics and that then caused here to miss a huge chunk of the year. She last featured in the WTA Finals in early November, where she lost two of her three group games, so it is difficult to make any judgements on her form coming into the Australian Open.
The 25-year-old has been making headlines for different reasons lately for her defence of banned coach Stefano Vukov, who she wishes to work with again despite allegations of his mistreatment towards her. During his time as coach, Rybakina claimed the Wimbledon title in 2022 and reached the Australian Open final the following year.
What an occasion this is for highly-regarded 16-year-old Emerson Jones, who has been handed a wildcard entry into her home Grand Slam.
The Australian claimed her first ever tour win at the recent Adelaide International, causing a huge shock by defeating world number 37 Xinyu Wang, and there is now a good deal of hype around her as she makes her senior Grand Slam debut.
The Melbourne crowd will be heavily in favour of Jones of course, but Rybakina has the experience to deal with that. Jones showed in Adelaide that she is a bright prospect but facing the world number six in a Grand Slam is a different prospect altogether. The Aussie will surely have her moments, but expect Rybakina to progress in straight sets.
Elena Rybakina vs Emerson Jones Tip: Elena Rybakina to win 2-0
