Aussie teen star misses out in Wimbledon qualifying bid

Ian Chadband | June 26, 2025

Emerson Jones has missed out in her bold bid to become the youngest Australian player since Ash Barty to make the singles main draw at Wimbledon.

But veteran Alex Bolt beat both the rain and one of the game’s rising young stars at Roehampton on Thursday to reach back-to-back main draws at the grass-court slam.

The 16-year-old Gold Coast star Jones, the world’s No.1 junior, found Frenchwoman Diane Parry too tough a hurdle in the final round of qualifying at the leafy London club near Wimbledon as she succumbed 6-2 6-2 in difficult windy conditions.

Jones, who was seeking to become the youngest Aussie since former Wimbledon champ Barty made it back in 2012, couldn’t adapt to the blustery conditions as well as her much more experienced opponent Parry, a 22-year-old who reached the third round at SW19 in 2022 as a teen.

Jones at least still has the chance to shoot for the junior title at Wimbledon where she reached the final last year. She celebrates her 17th birthday at the Championships a week on Monday.

With six players having reached the last round of qualifying, Australian hopes were boosted by another stirring display from 32-year-old Bolt, who made it into Wimbledon’s main draw for the fourth time.

Last year, the left-hander from Murray Bridge, the South Australian city where he acquired his prowess on the local grass courts, had the most dramatic ride to the big show, coming in as an alternate at 10 minutes’ notice and only making it through his three matches by saving a match point en route.

But this time, his journey was much less complicated as he dropped just one set en route in his three matches, ending up having a bit too much know-how for 19-year-old Spaniard Martin Landaluce, one of the game’s rising stars, on Thursday with his 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory.

“Martin’s a very talented youngster. These young guys, they have nothing to lose out here. I’ve qualified a couple times here now, so I was just trying to draw on that experience, and I brought a pretty good level,” said Bolt, who’ll be seeking to emulate his best performance of getting to the second round in 2021.

To have made it to another slam as the world No.181 after a stop-start career riddled with injuries left Bolt thrilled.

“It’s massive. I guess there’s no secret that I’m closer to the end of my career than the start and as long as I’m fit and healthy, I feel like I can keep going,” he said.

Four other Aussies were in action in the final round of quallies, but rain caused an interruption to the day’s program.