Britain’s Francesca Jones opened her 2026 season with the biggest win of her career, beating American world number 15 Emma Navarro in Auckland.
Jones, ranked 72nd, had never played an opponent inside the world’s top 50, but showed her quality and mentality to win 7-5 2-6 6-4.
After going an early break up in the decider, 25-year-old Jones held her nerve to serve out victory against second seed Navarro.
The British number three showed her ability to mix things up from the baseline, drawing mistakes from her out-of-sorts opponent, who reached the Australian Open quarter-finals last year.
“I’m absolutely knackered – for the first match of the year I didn’t make it easy,” Jones said.
“Trying to get ready for the season is really complicated – it’s about finding your feet.
“For me it was having the right attitude and thankfully I had that.”
The performance was a clear sign that Jones has the game – and belief – to build on the best season of her career in 2025.
Cracking the world’s top 100 last year was rich reward for a player who has continued to persevere, despite being hampered by a series of physical issues related to a rare genetic condition.
Jones was born with Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EEC), which means she has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on her right foot and four toes on her left.
Doctors told the Yorkshire-born player to forget about playing tennis professionally – but she has continued to beat the odds.
Last season, Jones thought about retiring if she did not meet her goals. Instead, she enjoyed the most productive season of her career so far.
Jones won the biggest title of her career at a WTA 125 event – the rung below the main tour – in July, then earned a second triumph at that level to move into the top 100.
In August, she secured a maiden main draw appearance at the US Open by coming through three rounds of qualifying as the top seed.
Now Jones is on the cusp of the world’s top 70 for the first time after beating Navarro and will rise higher if she beats Austria’s Sinja Kraus, ranked 108th, in the ASB Classic second round.
