Aussie teen Jones steps into the spotlight with 'Vogue' feature

All eyes are on Emerson Jones this month as the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz winds through her home country of Australia -- as evidenced by the fact that she's already landed a digital cover for the January issue of Vogue Australia.

The teenager called the feature a "pinch-me moment" when she revealed it on Instagram this week -- and for good reason. Showing off her favorite Nike 'fits with high-fashion accents, she's joined in the pages by high-profile Australian athletes like print cover star and Olympic gold medalist Jakara Anthony, the freestyle skier who will have Down Under talking at the Milan-Cortina Olympics next month. She also earned high praise a from recent Aussie great Ashleigh Barty in the accompanying written feature.

"She's certainly exciting to watch -- a joy when in full flight," the former World No. 1 Barty says.

But that's not the only surreal moment that the teen talent had in the early days of the Aussie summer. 

In the first round of the Brisbane International, she overcame a 21-year age gap to defeat Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-3 in the first round for her second career win at WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz main-draw level. Last year, she defeated then-World No. 37 Wang Xinyu in Adelaide.

But despite a spotlight that's only increasing ahead of the year's first Grand Slam tournament, the 17-year-old former junior World No. 1 is trying her best to stay grounded.

"I don't really put too much pressure on myself," she confessed this week in Brisbane, adding in Vogue: "I understand the media ... but mostly I'm confident in this being my journey and not being compared to other people."