Australian Open 2026: Francesca Jones, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Marina Stakosek retire due to injury in Melbourne

Jones was born with ectodermal dysplasia (EEC) and has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on her right foot and four toes on her left foot.

After a difficult 2024 in which she found herself outside the top 150 players in the world, Jones plans to retire in 2025 if her ranking does not improve.

Instead, she enjoyed a season that changed her life and injected new energy into her tennis career.

Jones had earned a direct entry into the main draw of the Australian Open for the first time, but it was a sad departure from what had been a proud moment.

The atmosphere was sombre on court as Jones cried loudly while receiving treatment in the third set.

The audience applauded sympathetically as Jones limped out with a towel covering her head.

This is the sixteenth time she has retired from a game since the start of the 2023 season.

“None of the retirements are directly associated with what might be referred to as a ‘child with syndrome,’” Jones said.

“What I relate to it is that I don’t think I had the team ready and the experience I needed from a young age.

“So he might say I’m 25, but my physical journey is still very early.”