Paris, France, 26 May 2025 | Ian Chadband (AAP)

Australia’s newest tennis champion Maya Joint has breezed into Paris with a giggle. 

She has a slight air of disbelief but the unshakeable confidence of a fearless teen who quite fancies the idea of shocking everyone again with her first deep run at a Grand Slam.

The sight of the freshly minted Morocco Open champ, excitedly taking a first hit on the Roland Garros clay on Sunday after a “crazy” couple of days – she won her first two WTA titles, in singles and doubles – felt the perfect pick-me-up for the green-and-gold contingent.

On Day 1 at Roland Garros, wildcards Destanee Aiava and Tristan Schoolkate, as well as Rinky Hijikata, exited the event.

But on Day 2 there’ll be one Australian winner, at least, on Monday with Joint facing Ajla Tomljanovic, the battle-hardened former No.1 who the youngster has long looked up to.

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Yet though Joint cut a shy figure, sounding still a little amazed at what she’s just achieved, it didn’t stop her musing confidently here on Sunday: “I’ve definitely gained a lot of confidence from Rabat. Yeah, I think I can do well this week.”

There’s been nothing bashful about her performances on court. 

Inscrutable behind her tinted shades, she displays the crisp hitting and clear thinking of a ruthless tennis veteran. She looks and sounds like a teen, just doesn’t play like one.

She is only the third Australian woman since 1990, after Alicia Molik and Ash Barty, to win the singles and doubles titles in the same week at a tour-level event.

Prior to Joint, Barty was the last Aussie woman to win a tour-level singles title – three-and-a-half years ago at Australian Open 2022.

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“It’s really exciting. I was here once before for a junior doubles match but I never played in junior singles, I lost in quallies,” Joint beamed after arriving at Roland Garros on Sunday. 

“I was thinking about Paris all last week, even when I was winning in Rabat.”

Playing her mate’s not ideal, though. “We’ve trained together quite a bit, travelled together and we’re good friends, so it’ll definitely be a difficult match, but a good match,” she said of the clash with Tomljanovic, 13 years her senior.

It will be a rematch of their semifinal meeting last week in Rabat, which ended when Tomljanovic retired after the first set due to an abdominal strain.

“Ajla’s definitely given me a lot of advice and guidance,” said Joint. “She’s been really helpful to me, and I’m really lucky to have her as a friend. So, it’s definitely gonna be difficult, but I’m excited. She’s someone I’ve looked up to.”

Joint is arguably the favourite when they meet again in Paris, as a player at home on the clay.

“I really enjoy clay. My grandparents live in Germany, so I went over there a lot in the summers and trained on the surface, so I’m pretty comfortable on it.”