Francesca Jones: Brit defends Challenger title in Palermo

Britain’s Francesca Jones won one by one on the Challenger Tour after successfully defending her title at the Palermo Ladies Open.

The top seed beat Fiona Ferro 6-0 4-6 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 43 minutes.

Jones, who had dropped a set throughout the tournament, took the opener in just 21 minutes.

The 25-year-old came from 3-0 down to lead 4-3 in the second, but Ferro leveled the match in three straight games.

A tight deciding set went to a tie break, where the French seventh seed lost match point 6-5, allowing Jones to close out the victory.

It was his fourth career win on the Challenger Tour and second in eight days after winning the ATV Rome Open.

“We both deserved to win. It was a close match in the end, and we did everything we could,” said Jones, who defeated Anouk Kovermans of the Netherlands to win the 2025 title.

Bradford-born Jones will climb from 113 to 110 in the WTA rankings on Monday after this success.