As far as starts to a new player-coach relationship, this has to be as good as it gets.

In her first tournament working with a new mentor, Talia Gibson will surge up the world rankings only days after officially starting work with Jarrad Bunt.

The 21-year-old West Australian has enjoyed a breakout year with appearances in the main draw of grand slams and a memorable clash with Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon. She probably wishes her 2025 season never ends after winning the Perpetual NSW Open at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.

Despite having played a taxing semi-final which lasted almost two hours longer than her rival in the final, Emerson Jones, Gibson’s brutal power game was too much for the defending champion Jones, who won last year’s championship as a 16-year-old.

It was Gibson’s third ITF title of the year, sealed 6-2, 6-4 in just 71 minutes in front of a healthy crowd, and a far cry from her semi-final defeat to Jones in 2024.

Asked if there was a difference in her game from last year, Gibson said: “I think there’s probably a pretty big difference to be honest, especially mentally.

“The experiences I’ve had over the last year, I was able to learn a lot and approach things differently mentally, but also physically as well. I’ve made a lot of gains.

“There was a little bit of nerves. I was just trying to stay as calm as possible and treat it like another match. Using my experience this year from the matches I’ve played, just putting this one into perspective and treating it like another match.”

As Bunt watched on with his new protégé, Gibson seized control of the match early in the first set and never took her foot off the pedal, controlling the middle of the court and shifting Jones to the corners.

The third seed didn’t show any signs of fatigue from a bruising three-setter against top seed Kim Birrell in the final four, and is now one from one with Bunt in her corner.

“It’s not bad, is it? The big thing for her it to commit to the game style and try to be aggressive with the first couple of strikes,” Bunt said. “We’ll keep working on that and see how it goes.

“She’s awesome, super professional, highly motivated and she’s got some serious firepower from both wings.

“She’s got a great backhand and a clean ball striker with a great serve, which is real positive in the women’s (game). That was probably the difference today. She was able to hold, get free points and put pressure on Emerson’s serve while holding her serve.”

As Jones desperately tried to establish a toehold in the match, Gibson crashed eight aces across the net and crucially converted three of five break opportunities. Her serve came up big on Jones’ small windows to make a mark, saving all six break point chances.

Gibson (136) will edge ever closer to breaking the world’s top 100 for the first time, having reached a career best of 105 in August.

It’s a goal for most players to reach that threshold – but Gibson and Bunt have barely had time to work out what she wants to achieve.

“I’m sure that’s one of her goals when we sit down and go through it a bit more,” he said. “She has the game, doesn’t she?”