Francesca Jones, representing Great Britain, secured her second championship on the Challenger Tour in commanding style, defeating Anouk Koevermans with a score of 6-3, 6-2 in Palermo.
The 24-year-old athlete is projected to ascend to the 84th position in the global rankings when they are updated on Monday, marking her debut within the top 100.
Jones, from England, experienced a first-round exit at Wimbledon earlier in July but has since achieved consecutive Challenger Tour victories on clay surfaces, presently holding the fourth alternate spot for the main competition of the US Open scheduled for the upcoming month.
She gained a crucial advantage by breaking her Dutch adversary’s serve to establish a 5-3 lead, subsequently serving successfully to clinch the initial set.
Jones, who maintained an undefeated record in sets throughout the Palermo Ladies Open, translated that impetus into the subsequent set, securing another break in the initial game, followed by a double break to lead 4-1 and ultimately secure the triumph.
The player, born in Bradford, attained her inaugural WTA semi-final appearance in 2023 but encountered challenges in capitalizing on that performance and has not progressed beyond the initial round in a Grand Slam tournament.
Fellow British competitor George Loffhagen also celebrated a successful conclusion to the week, achieving a 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 victory against Spain’s Nicolas Alvarez Varona in Segovia.
This marks the first instance of Loffhagen, also 24 years old, claiming a title at a Challenger Tour event.
