GB's Jones misses match points in Nottingham loss

Francesca Jones reaches Nottingham Open quarter-finals in 2024

Published 15 June 2026

Francesca Jones squandered two match points as she fell to a tight defeat against Talia Gibson in the opening round of the Nottingham Open.

The British player rallied from a set and a break down—along with a medical timeout—to push the contest to a decider versus Australia's Gibson.

After dropping an early break in the third set, Jones fought back and held two match points while serving for the match at 5-3.

Nevertheless, world number 66 Gibson broke back and kept her composure in the resulting tie-break, securing a 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-4) victory after a draining three hours and six minutes.

Jones demonstrated strong resilience in what became the longest match of her career, recording 15 aces and landing 75% of her first serves.

She also showed signs of distress on two occasions, notably after being broken to begin the second set when she sat with her head beneath a towel, breathing heavily.

A doctor was summoned to the court to assess her blood pressure and vital signs, and Jones continued, breaking Gibson back before ultimately claiming a tight second set.

The 25-year-old called for another medical timeout at 5-5 in the third set after appearing to struggle with a nasal issue.

Earlier in Nottingham, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen mounted a comeback to defeat Maria Sakkari 4-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Queen's finalist Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter both withdrew from the tournament on Monday.

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There were defeats for British hopefuls Harry Wendelken and Jack Pinnington Jones in the opening round at Queen's.

World number 224 Wendelken beat two top-100 players in Adam Walton and Aleksandar Vukic during qualifying to secure a spot in the main draw.

However, he lost 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to 56th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in the first match on Andy Murray Arena.

Pinnington Jones, who advanced to the second round at Wimbledon last year, fell 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-3) to Denis Shapovalov in a back-and-forth contest.

Pinnington Jones was twice a break ahead in the deciding set and served for the match against the Canadian.

Yet former world number 10 and 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Shapovalov broke back and dominated the tie-break to move forward.

In the doubles, British defending champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool overcame Francisco Cerundolo and Brendan Nakashima 7-5 6-4.