Fran Jones was assisted off the court in a wheelchair after collapsing during her match in Bogota, Colombia. The British tennis star was serving in the ninth game of the third set when she suddenly fell to the floor.
The 24-year-old Jones, ranked British number five, initially lay on her back before rolling to her side as medical staff quickly attended to her. Julia Riera, her opponent, walked over to check on Jones and helped lift her onto a wheelchair.
Jones, who reached a career-high ranking of 123 last month, was forced to withdraw from her first-round match in the Colsanitas Cup, a WTA 250 tournament, with the score at 6-2, 5-7, 5-3 in favor of the Argentinian.
A Colsanitas Cup statement confirmed, “Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera in favor of the Argentinian.” They wished Jones a speedy recovery.
Just last week, Jones had defeated Riera in straight sets to win the W75 Vacaria in Brazil, marking her eighth ITF title.
Meanwhile, Heather Watson was eliminated from the Charleston Open following a straight-set loss to Iryna Shymanovich in the first round. Watson, the British number seven, was defeated 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 by the Belarusian world number 215.