Francesca Jones, the Bradford-born British tennis player, has successfully defended her title at the Palermo Ladies Open on the Challenger Tour.
The top seed defeated France's Fiona Ferro 6-0 4-6 7-6 (8-6) in two hours and 43 minutes in the final.
Match Summary
Jones made a dominant start, taking the opening set in just 21 minutes. She had dropped only one set throughout the tournament up to that point.
The second set proved tighter. Ferro recovered from 0-3 down as Jones led, but the French seventh seed won three consecutive games to level the match at one set each.
The deciding set went to a tie break. Ferro reached match point at 6-5 but was unable to convert it, allowing Jones to claim victory and close out the match.
Career Progress
This was Jones's fourth career Challenger Tour title. It marks her second Challenger victory in eight days, following a win at the ATV Rome Open.
The 25-year-old achieved a career-high ranking of 65 earlier this year. Following her Palermo victory, she will rise from 113 to 110 in the WTA rankings on Monday.
Jones beat Anouk Koevermans of the Netherlands in last year's Palermo final in 2025.