British tennis player Francesca Jones has successfully retained her crown at the Palermo Ladies Open, marking her second Challenger Tour victory in just over a week. The top-seeded competitor triumphed over Fiona Ferro with a score of 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) following a grueling two-hour and 43-minute battle.
Jones started strongly, dominating the first set in only 21 minutes. Although the French seventh seed forced a decider, Jones maintained her composure during a tense tie-break to secure the win after Ferro missed a match point. This result adds to her recent success at the ATV Rome Open and follows her peak career ranking of 65 earlier this year. The 25-year-old from Bradford is expected to climb to 110 in the upcoming WTA rankings.
