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Australian number one tennis player names her three idols including Roger Federer

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Jan 11, 2026 1:00 PM ET

Maya Joint has revealed the three players who particularly inspired her when she was growing up.

Joint had a breakout season in 2025, climbing from outside the top 100 to a career-high ranking of world number 32.

This enabled the teenager to be the Australian number one, with Joint already setting herself goals for the 2026 season.

As she continues to work towards these goals, Joint has named three players who she looked up to growing up on the WTA Tour.

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Maya Joint names her three tennis heroes growing up

Before she heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open, Joint will make her debut at the stacked WTA 500 tournament in Adelaide.

Ahead of her first appearance at the tournament, Joint spoke in her pre-tournament press conference where selected media got to know more about the 19-year-old.

This included Joint being asked about who her tennis heroes were growing up, to which she responded by naming three Grand Slam champions.

Alongside Roger Federer, Joint also spoke about how much she enjoyed watching both Simona Halep and her compatriot Ash Barty

“I really love watching Simona Halep play. I really love the way she would run for every ball, fought really hard,” said Joint. “I loved watching Ash Barty, Roger Federer, yeah.”

Maya Joint says if she feels more Australian or American

While she is the Australian number one, Joint was actually born in Michigan, USA, to an Australian father and German mother.

After having dual citizenship, Joint now lives in Melbourne, she has now revealed that she now feels more Australian than American.

“I grew up in America, so for the first 16 years I considered myself American,” explained Joint. “When I moved to Australia everyone really embraced me, all the Aussie girls, all the Aussie fans, yeah, they really made me feel at home. So now that I’ve permanently moved to Melbourne I definitely feel Australian.”

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When asked a follow-up question about her relationship with her fellow Australians, Joint named five players that she particularly gets on with.

“Kim Birrell, Ajla Tomljanovic, Ellen Perez, Storm Hunter, Maddy Inglis,” added Joint. “There’s so many, I don’t want to forget anyone.”

Joint will be hoping that she can really utilize the home support in both Adelaide and Melbourne for her remaining tournaments in the Australian swing.

However, she faces a tough opener at the Adelaide International, with Joint playing former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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