It has been a truly torrid year for Maya Joint.
The Australian youngster burst onto the tennis scene last year, winning two WTA Tour titles and rising to world number 28.
However, since the turn of the year, Joint’s form has dipped dramatically.
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Remarkably, the young star has not won a match at the WTA Tour level for the best part of six months.
Maya Joint’s tough year on the WTA Tour
On Monday afternoon, Joint was defeated in the first round of the Eastbourne Open by Emiliana Arango.
Joint was the defending champion in Eastbourne; and as a result of her loss, she will now fall outside of the WTA top 80.
The Australian has now lost 11 consecutive matches at the WTA Tour level and has only won three of her 16 singles matches on the year.
Two of Joint’s three victories this year came at the Adelaide International – an event that took place at the start of January.
The 20-year-old’s remaining victory occurred at a WTA Challenger event in Makarska, Croatia.
Earlier this year, three-time major champion, Ashleigh Barty, hailed Joint ahead of her first appearance at the Australian Open as a seeded player.
| Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| Adelaide International | Sofia Kenin | Won |
| Alja Tomljanovic | Won | |
| Mirra Andreeva | Lost | |
| Australian Open | Tereza Valentova | Lost |
| Abu Dhabi Open | Janice Tjen | Lost |
| Qatar Open | Linda Noskova | Lost |
| Dubai Tennis Championships | Diana Shnaider | Lost |
| Indian Wells | Jacqueline Cristian | Lost |
| Italian Open | Viktoria Golubic | Lost |
| WTA 125k Paris [Challenger] | Chloe Paquet | Lost |
| Strasbourg Open | Ann Li | Lost |
| Roland Garros | Anastasia Potapova | Lost |
| WTA 125k Makarska [Challenger] | Katarzyna Kawa | Won |
| Yasmine Kabbaj | Lost | |
| Nottingham Open | Yuliia Starodubtseva | Lost |
| Eastbourne Open | Emilian Arango | Lost |
“Exciting for Maya to be seeded at a slam for the first time, particularly at home in Australia,” Barty said, as reported by ESPN.
“A testament to her hard work, professionalism and consistency over the past 12 months.
“I love watching her play and can’t wait to see her in Melbourne.”
Will Maya Joint find her form at Wimbledon?
Joint has proven herself to be an adept grass-court player, as demonstrated by her title-winning campaign in Eastbourne last year.
The Australian now has the opportunity to silence her doubters and quickly rise back up the rankings.
The young star is defending very few ranking points at Wimbledon this year because she was defeated in the first round of last year’s event.
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Consequently, Joint could attain a significant amount of ranking points at this year’s Wimbledon event, should she locate her best form.
Joint will find out her path to the Wimbledon title when the draw for the women’s singles event is published this Friday.
