Francesca Jones About

Yorkshire's defiance: the seven-toed Brit who outran the doctors

Francesca Jones was born with a thumb and three fingers on each hand and seven toes, the result of a rare genetic condition. She was born with ectrodactyly–ectodermal dysplasia–cleft syndrome (EEC) — and the medical consensus was that pro sport was off the table. The Bradford native moved to Barcelona's Sánchez-Casal Academy at nine to chase it anyway. She turned pro through the ITF grind, ending 2018 inside the top 400 for the first time and posting a 37-18 record across the season, and broke through at 20: at 20 years of age, Jones made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open, coming through qualifying before losing in the first round to Shelby Rogers.

The game is built on adaptation rather than power. She self-describes as a gritty perfectionist, and her record reads accordingly — a clay-court counterpuncher whose career WTA hard-court mark is 8-14, with 5-6 on clay and 4-8 on grass. The flip side of her competitiveness is a fragile body that has cost her repeatedly: her Australian Open glute retirement marked the 22nd retirement of her professional career, and she's been carried off court by full-body cramp and an altitude collapse in Bogotá along the way.

The career-defining run was 2025. Jones won her first WTA 125 title at Contrexéville, then claimed a second at the Palermo Ladies Open without dropping a set, entering the top 100 for the first time at No. 84 on 28 July 2025. She fought through qualifying to reach a Grand Slam main draw for the first time at the US Open and closed the year as British No. 3.

The 2026 opening carried a signature high and low. At the ASB Classic she recorded her first win over a top-15 player, beating world No. 15 Emma Navarro, and in March she beat Venus Williams in the Miami Open opener for her first WTA 1000-level win before illness forced another retirement. Her career-high ranking of No. 69 came on 12 January 2026.

Francesca Jones at a glance

Francesca Jones is 26 years old; was born in Bradford, Great Britain; stands 1.73 m; plays right-handed; and is ranked No. 105 in the WTA rankings.