Fran Jones of Britain stated it “signifies everything” after she triumphed over her childhood idol, Venus Williams, in the opening round of the Miami Open.
Jones achieved a 7-5 7-5 victory against the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams, who, at 45 years old, was the most senior participant in the women’s singles tournament.
This marks the 25-year-old’s inaugural WTA 1000 career win, whereas for Williams, it was her ninth consecutive loss since securing an initial-round victory in Washington last summer.
Concurrently, second seed Iga Swiatek was upset by world number 50 Magda Linette, who recovered from being a set down to claim a 1-6 7-5 6-3 win in the second round.
It is the first instance in 74 competitions that Swiatek, having received a first-round bye, has been defeated in her opening match at a WTA Tour event.
The current Wimbledon title holder has not progressed beyond the quarter-finals in any of the four tournaments she has competed in during 2026.
“I ceased executing anything strategically well,” Swiatek commented following her defeat to her Polish compatriot.
“It simply proved to be a poor performance for me in the second and third sets. Whether subconsciously or consciously, I find it difficult to ascertain. I need to put in effort to bounce back from this, as I haven’t experienced such sensations for approximately five years.”
