Positive medical update for British star after alarming collapse on court

Kevin Palmer 02 Apr 2025 5:39 PM

British tennis player Fran Jones collapsed on court

British tennis player Fran Jones has issued a positive medical update after collapsing alarmingly on court at the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota.

Jones slumped to the ground as she was serving against Julia Riera, as she was just a few points away from defeat with the scoreline at 6-2, 5-7, 5-3. She was unable to complete the match and was forced to leave the court in a wheelchair.

Jones’ retirement from the tournament was confirmed in an online statement that read: “Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7 5-3 in favour of the Argentinian. We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery.”

Commentator Tim White is covering the tournament in Bogota and he reported on X that Jones was ‘okay’ after her medical emergency.

Jones then posted a message on her Instagram account to assure her followers that she was okay.

“After winning the event in Brazil on Sunday, our total trip took over 24h, with minimal rest and recovery from a long week,” she wrote.

“Bogota is renowned for its altitude, and often takes a few days to adapt. Unfortunately upon our arrival Monday afternoon we were unable to practice due to rain and this meant that aside from my low-level pre match warm up, my first exposure to the limited oxygen levels at a high intensity was my match.

“As the match went on, I worked hard to give myself the opportunity to stay competitive while trying to get used to the conditions but progressively struggled; blurry vision eventually leading to collapsing, with no cramp having occurred.

“Overnight we conducted multiple studies and it seems my heart worked a little too hard on the day but thankfully no longer term impact. Bogota is one of my favourite events of the year and I hope to reconnect in 2026 under different circumstances.

“After a few days rest, I will continue to build on the improvements made to date this season. Thank you for the messages and concern.”

This is the fourth time Jones has been forced to retire from a match in 2025, yet her presence on the court is remarkable after being born with the rare genetic condition Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia.

She is missing one finger on each hand and has only seven toes, and finishing matches has been a challenge throughout her career, with Jones suffering bouts of severe cramps.

After making her debut at the Australian Open in 2021, she went on to play in the first round at Wimbledon later that year.

Fran Jones collapsed on court in Bogota and had to retire. Really scary to see, my prayers are with her pic.twitter.com/P5ktrDf4Ep

— Owen (@kostekcanu) April 2, 2025

She has been in good form of late and won a clay court event on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Brazil last month, but her physical limitations will always be a barrier to her ambitions and this latest incident highlights the battles Jones faces to continue her tennis story.

She spoke about her condition in an interview with the LTA and insisted she was not looking for any special treatment despite her battles.

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“I have EEC and while I don’t go into all the details about it, I am Fran and I will always be Fran. It wasn’t the easiest thing to go through, but I wanted to push myself,” said Jones.

“When I was about seven or eight, I started to play a little bit more. Having gone through the operations I was going through in that moment, and prior to that, we did go to my doctor and say ‘Hey, she’s actually starting to pick this up on quite a consistent level’.

“That was when I was limited by someone, or there was an attempt to limit me, and that just pushed me even further to commit. People told me I couldn’t do it, but I wanted to test that and see where it could take me.

“The reason why I started committing as a professional and wanting to achieve big things in the game is that I want people to hopefully take positives from what I’ve managed to do and be an inspiration to them. It would be great to have a positive impact on younger kids and people who are in similar positions to me.

“I’m very privileged to be able to step onto a court every day as my job – something that keeps me healthy and gives me an objective every day,” she added.

“I think there’s only one goal, and that’s ultimately to just fulfil my potential in whatever I’m setting myself out to do and giving myself the best platform to do that.”

Jones played against Coco Guaff at Wimbledon in 2021, with the American expressing her awe at the achievements of her opponent as she overcomes her difficulties.

“Her story is incredible,” said Gauff after her win against Jones. “From people telling her she couldn’t play tennis, let alone go pro, to the fact she has made it this far giving it her all is something I really respect as an athlete.

“Also, after the match it took her a while to get to the net because I think she was really trying to savour the moment but I basically told her you will have plenty more moments like this but you will be the one winning so don’t let this match affect you.

“If she competes like that and you compete hard at every point, you will have matches go your way in the future. With her, she is just an outstanding person and player who will go far.

“So I was just letting her know don’t let this crush you because matches like this can really hurt or break a player and I don’t want it to break her.

“I want this to build her and next time she has a match like this, maybe even against me, she will know what to do and come out on top.”