British French Open star in tears after huge win and embraces parents in emotional scenes | Tennis | Sport

Britain’s Francesca Jones won her first-ever Grand Slam main-draw match at the seventh time of asking, battling back from a set and a break down to beat former world No. 10 Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6 7-6(4) 6-2. Jones also trailed by a break in the decider, and won the last five games in a row to reach the second round at the French Open.

The British No. 4 was in tears after the match and hugged Haddad Maia – who she says is one of her “biggest fans” – at the net before running to the side of her court for another emotional embrace, this time with her parents, who were living and dying by every point with her.

It’s been a long journey for Jones to win her first main-draw match at a Major. The world No. 102 has a rare genetic condition, ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia (EED), which means she has three fingers and one thumb on each hand. When she was younger, doctors said she would never play professional tennis.

“It speaks for itself, honestly. It speaks for itself,” Jones said after her milestone win. “I hope I can do this more often to keep getting the message across more, because I know that whilst the tour respects me a lot and do a lot for me, I think I’d like to reach more angles of the world. So I’ll keep giving it my everything to keep pushing the story ahead. I guess I refer to it as a story, but ultimately it’s a reality.”

Jones has also had a difficult year after suffering a concussion during a gym session in the United States. A safety lock on a leg press machine, which had been holding up 45kg, failed and the weight crashed into her head and knee. She is now in the middle of a legal case in the US. And all of that set in as she claimed her first win at a Slam.

“Normally, I’m one to say you shouldn’t cry until the tournament is over, but I think everything I’ve been through this year, it’s really been challenging. I think really tough on my parents, like, throughout the kind of whole concussion process and all that. They’ve been on the other side of the world,” the Brit explained.

“Obviously, I can’t speak much about it, but it was in the US, so it’s tough for them, different time zones, calling from hospitals, and not understanding bloody American medical insurance s***e. So it was a real challenge, and I think they’ve just suffered with me, you know, even from a distance.

“Of course, you can look at the bigger picture, but truly, the emotion for me isn’t about the bigger picture. It’s much more about how tough this year has been. So yeah, I lost a bad match in Rabat this week as well, so to find a way back today in the same week, it’s not an easy ask. I’m just glad that I dug deep.”

Jones’ parents know exactly what she’s been through, and after an emotional but “sweaty” hug, her mum, Adele, said: “She kept believing in herself. She’s had such a bad year with all the injuries and everything. It’s just maintaining that belief, and that’s what we’re trying to say to her then at the side of the court, ‘Just believe’. We don’t coach, we don’t know anything about tennis, just believe in your body, believe in yourself, in support.”

It’s also been a long road in her career. Jones made her Grand Slam debut at the 2021 Australian Open. She has also lost matches at Wimbledon and the US Open over the years. This was her first main draw appearance in Roland Garros, and the 25-year-old was delighted to get a win on her favourite surface.

“I think what was more on my mind wasn’t necessarily the past. There’s a lot of context to previous losses and first round, as I said, the injury. If you count 2021 Australia all the way back, it was my first-ever a long time ago,” she explained.

“I think for me it was more about doing it here on the clay. It is my surface. I’ve had a tough clay season, which is, you know, difficult for me to swallow because of all the above that we don’t need to go back and talk about. So I think just to try and at least compensate a little bit means a lot from that side of things, yeah.”

While it’s a special moment for the world No. 102, she’s still fully focused on her next match as she takes on 27th seed Marie Bouzkova on Wednesday. Jones added: “It will be a top moment on court, but there’s absolutely no reason why I’ll be living in the shadows in my next match at all, right?

“I know I’m dangerous on this surface. I know I’ve not been on my best form, but it gives you belief. I think, of course, if we go back to the fact that I was told I couldn’t play tennis, you know, when you’re winning matches in the main draws of slams and beating someone that was 10 in the world, it kind of nips you in the bud a bit. Of course, it’s a monumental moment, but don’t get me wrong, I’ll be going after the next match.”

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