Tennis
2026-01-19 - Victoria Mboko vs Emerson Jones
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : Australian Open First Round
Monday 19th January 2025 - Scheduled 4pm
5am (British Time)
Preview
Two teenagers meet in the First Round of the Australian Open, but the younger player representing the host nation is going to have to bridge a significant gap.
Emerson Jones is 17 years old and she has reached a career high World Ranking mark earlier this month when entering the top 150 for the first time.
However, it should be noted that Jones is still learning her trade on the professional Tour and the Australian also has limited experience when it comes to playing some of the stronger players on the Tour. This is going to be the eighth time Emerson Jones has faced a top 100 Ranked player on the hard courts and she has been beaten in five of the previous seven occasions, including twice this month.
Her opponent is not exactly blessed with a deep experience, but Victoria Mboko is 19 years old and has won a big 1000 event in Montreal.
Over the last twelve months, the Canadian has not only moved into the top 100 for the first time, but Victoria Mboko is inside the top 20 and is Seeded here in Melbourne.
In the warm up for the Australian Open, Victoria Mboko was able to reach a Final in Adelaide before coming up short against Mirra Andreeva, while she has dominated those opponents Ranked outside of the top 100 on this surface.
In the last twelve months, Victoria Mboko has a 19-1 record in that situation and twelve of those wins were in matches when she would have covered this line set for the First Round match. Doing so at a Grand Slam when the youngster is going to have to deal with a vocal crowd will be difficult, but Victoria Mboko has the talent to beat Emerson Jones at this current stage of their respective careers.
There is a significant edge in the service numbers being produced in favour of Victoria Mboko and she has also been the superior return player.
Emerson Jones looks to have a lot of potential and is growing into the pro game, but this tournament may be too early to expect her to earn the upset of a Seeded player who is looking to take the next step in her own development over the next eleven months.
Playing in this kind of environment will be challenging, but Victoria Mboko can find the quality of tennis needed to take command and eventually wear down Emerson Jones in what could be the first match of a potentially long professional rivalry.
Prediction
There are high hopes about the careers that these two youngsters may be able to put together, but Victoria Mboko is two years older than Emerson Jones and that gives her a lot more upper level experience.
This can show up in their first professional match against one another, although Jones will have plenty of home support to keep her motivated.
The Pick :
Victoria Mboko 2-0 Emerson Jones
