Britain’s Francesca Jones has been forced to withdraw from the Colsanitas Cup in Bogotá after collapsing on court. The 24-year-old appeared to stagger after failing to return a serve from Argentina’s Julia Riera in the third set of their round-of-32 match and was unable to return to play. She fell to the ground and was removed from the court in a wheelchair but later said her heart had “worked a little too hard”.
“Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2, 5-7, 5-3 in favour of the Argentinian,” the tournament posted on X. “We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery.”
Jones, who was two points from defeat, had a quick turnaround after winning her eighth career title in Brazil at the weekend, while playing at altitude may also have had an effect. Ranked 129 in the world, she has to deal with physical challenges on court after being born with the rare genetic condition ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia.
She is missing one finger on each hand and has only seven toes. Finishing matches has been a challenge throughout her career, with Jones suffering bouts of severe cramp. This is the 19th time she has retired during a match and the second time this year. Riera will face America’s Iva Jovic in the last 16.
Jones later provided an update on her condition on social media, posting on Instagram: “Aside from my low-level pre-match warm up, my first exposure to the limited oxygen levels at a high intensity was my match. As the match went on, I worked hard to give myself the opportunity to stay competitive while trying to get used to the conditions but progressively struggled.”
She added: “Overnight we conducted multiple studies and it seems my heart worked a little too hard on the day but thankfully no longer term impact.”
In the US, the British No 7, Heather Watson, suffered a straight-sets defeat in the first round of the Charleston Open. The 32-year-old was beaten 7-6 (8), 6-4 by the Belarusian world No 215, Iryna Shymanovich.
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Watson saved three set points during a tight opener, but could not capitalise on her one opportunity to seize the initiative during the tiebreak. The world No 182 was broken four times in set two, including in her final two service games, as Shymanovich progressed to a last-32 meeting with the top seed, Jessica Pegula, the beaten finalist at last year’s US Open.
