The soaring 19-year-old, who's already landed her first two career titles this year and became Australian No.1 last week, continued her triumphant progress on Friday by overcoming a tough challenge from Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the WTA 250 event.
It's booked Joint a fifth semi-final in her last individual tournament of the season. She'll face Cristina Bucsa in Saturday's semi, with a golden opportunity to make another final by defeating the Moldovan-born Spaniard, No.56 in the world.
World No. 32 Maya Joint was pushed all the way by the 228th-ranked qualifier Himeno Sakatsume, but the 19-year-old Aussie had too much firepower and confidence in the end, going through to the semis 6-4 2-6 6-4.— HongKong Tennis Open (@HKTennisOpen) October 31, 2025"It's been an amazing year and it's great to finish it here in front… pic.twitter.com/fqmGPwg7ZF
Joint has also managed to sidestep top seed Belinda Bencic, who had to pull out injured before her quarter-final with Bucsa.
Now up to No.32 and rising, Joint, who started the year at 116, can hardly credit her rapid rise to that top-32 position that would ensure her a place as a seeded player in next year's Australian Open.
"It's been crazy, I didn't expect all this to happen so quickly," she told reporters in Hong Kong.
"It was always a goal of mine to be one of the top players in the world but it's still hard to imagine that I am where I am.
"I'm really excited about it all; I really hope I'm going to be seeded for the Australian Open next year, but it's been unbelievable."
Being a grand slam seed looks likely the way she keeps progressing. A third title this weekend would almost guarantee it as she'd rocket into the world's top-25 before spearheading Australia's Bille Jean King Cup team's play-off against Brazil and Portugal in Hobart in a fortnight.
But Joint didn't have things all her own way against Sakatsume, the world No.228 who'd already pulled off a huge shock earlier in the championships by knocking out fourth seed Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champ.
The US-born Queenslander won four straight games and produced a glorious winner to take the opening set, but her form dipped in the second.
"I was getting a bit anxious and thinking I'd lost my backhand, which is usually my strength. I just needed to mentally reset and tell myself it's not true."
It also helped that the youngster has been working with a mental coach who's given Joint strategies to stay calm in the tough moments, and she regrouped to earn a decisive break in the fifth game of the final set.
The other Hong Kong semi will be an all-Canadian affair between their two young stars, third seed Victoria Mboko and former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, the No.2 seed.
In another WTA 250 event in India at the Chennai Open, former Australian No.1 Kim Birrell also made it to the semi-finals -- easily her best run of the year in any tour-level event -- with a 6-4 6-0 victory over Croatian third seed Donna Vekic, the 2024 Wimbledon semi-finalist.
It's set up a semi-final date for the No.7 seed with Taiwanese Joanna Garland, who ended the hopes of another Australian, Arina Rodionova, in the quarter-finals with a 6-2 7-6 (7-2) win.
