BRIT Fran Jones broke down in tears as she was forced to retire from the Australian Open first round.
Jones broke down in tears during her match against Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova.
She had been an injury doubt heading into the clash because of a groin problem.
And in an early fall she suffered a gluteal injury which led her to abandon in the second set.
Jones, 25, received medical attention and attempted to continue – and she could be heard sobbing on the court.
The British No3 trailed 6-2 3-2 at the time of her retirement, and she was still emotional in her post-match press conference.
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She told the media: “I normally stay under control in front of you guys, but I might struggle today.
“I went for a slice, and the leg that I had injured, I slipped on it and fell. I felt something pull in my glute.
“I tried to see if it would settle but obviously aware of then multiple injuries in one leg. Very difficult to think about the match at that point.
“Obviously, I’m at a career-high [ranking]. I’m probably in the main draws of the Masters, and then you are thinking, should I continue? Do I fight because it’s a slam? There’s money, there’s points on the line.
“Equally, with my history, it’s probably not the smartest thing to keep pushing.”
Jones has been plagued by injury and physical problems throughout her career.
She was born with Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EEC) which means she only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand and seven toes.
The world No71 was close to quitting the sport in 2024 and would have done so if results did not improve.
She said: “I was very serious [about retiring]. It was a case of going all out for one more year.
“If I would have been [ranked] 101, I wasn’t going to quit. But it was a feeling that I had.
“It was smaller objectives that, if I completed those, would have led to me being in the top 100.”
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