FRAN JONES booked her spot in the US Open main draw for the first time – as she continues to defy the odds despite her health adversity.
The Yorkshire lass came through three rounds of qualifying at Flushing Meadows this week to secure herself a place in the singles tournament, which starts on Sunday.
A 6-2 6-4 victory over Dutchwoman Arianne Hartono secured her a minimum of $110,000 (£81,000) prize money.
She will join Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal in the 128-player draw, but her next opponent will be decided later this evening, here in New York.
Jones was unfortunate not to have qualified automatically like her compatriots, having risen up to 86th on the WTA World Ranking.
Yet she coped with the tag of being the No.1 seed for the qualifying stage and did not drop a set across the three matches.
What is even more remarkable is that the Bradford hotshot is a professional athlete in spite of missing several fingers and toes.
When she was eight years old, Jones was told by a doctor that her unusual physical condition would prevent her from becoming a tennis star.
The 24-year-old – who had a series of operations as a kid – was born with the rare genetic conditions of ectrodactyly and ectodermal dysplasia.
The British No.4 has only three fingers and a thumb on each hand and has three toes on one foot and four toes on the other.
Speaking about her rare condition in January 2021, when she qualified for the Australian Open for the first time, Jones said: “I try to use it as a positive and I see it as an advantage in many ways.
“I don’t think I reached a low point with the syndrome. Of course, like any other tennis player, I’ve reached many low points in my life.
“You could say I proved the doctor wrong and I’m sure a good few other people as well.
“But you know what? I’m not bothered about proving people wrong.
“I’d rather prove to people that you can switch the perspective there.
“I’m not playing out of revenge. I’m playing to have a positive impact for those who hopefully read my story. I do hope people can take some.
I’m not bothered about proving people wrong.”
Fran Jones
“I’d love to have a positive impact on people. I’d love people to take strength from my story.
“I’ve got so much more that I want to achieve and this is very much the start of my journey.”
Fran has been based at Andy Murray’s former training base, the Sanchez Casal Academy in Barcelona, since the age of nine and even has a parking spot close to the Nou Camp, which is under renovation.
In three previous appearances at one of the four Slams, she has been defeated each time in the first round – so getting a victory next week in the Big Apple would represent a career milestone.
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