Emerson Jones, 17, says she has basically lost her school friends due to tennis career responsibilities, and admits she quickly realized that life on the Tour "can get lonely."

Jones, who is one of the promising Australian tennis players, is just 17 but she has been competing on pro level for the past three seasons. 

In January 2023, Jones received a qualifying wildcard for her home tournament in Hobart. The following year, the promising Australian also debuted at Melbourne Park by featuring in the qualifying event. 

Since then, the 17-year-old has captured her first WTA main-draw win by beating Wang Xinyu in Adelaide earlier this year. Also, the 17-year-old made her Grand Slam main draw debut after being awarded a main draw wildcard. She is currently ranked at No. 151 in the world - which is just one spot below her career-high ranking of No. 150.

While Jones is certainly happy that she early and successfully launched her tennis career, she underlines that not everything is ideal about it.

“I don’t really have my school friends anymore. I have a lot of tennis friends... but it can get lonely sometimes, especially stepping into the women’s tour," the three-time ITF champion told Herald Sun.

On the Tour, Jones is constantly accompanied by her mother Loretta Harrop, who is a former Australian triathlon star and an Olympic silver medalist. 

“Sending her by herself was never an option for us, we’ve always made sure one of us is with her. The goal is to create a buffer against the solitude of the women's competition. “It’s important she stays happy and mentally in a good happy state and we don’t want her to get lonely because she is so young playing in the women’s competition," Harrop said.

Jones concluded her 2025 season by winning the ITF Playford and finishing as runner-up at the ITF Sydney.