During a match in Colombia, British tennis player Fran Jones experienced a medical scare, explaining that her heart had “worked a little too hard.” The 24-year-old needed assistance after collapsing on the court and was taken away in a wheelchair. Fortunately, she reassured fans that medical evaluations have shown no long-term effects from the incident.
Jones attributed her collapse to the challenges of high-altitude conditions in Bogota. She had missed a crucial practice session due to rain, which left her underprepared for the thin air. “Outside of a brief pre-match warm-up, my first real encounter with the low oxygen levels was during the match,” Jones shared through an Instagram story.
As the match progressed, she struggled to adjust to the conditions, trying her best to remain competitive despite the mounting difficulty. She described experiencing “blurry vision,” which led to her collapse on the court, noting that muscle cramping was not an issue. Overnight tests revealed that her heart had indeed worked excessively hard, but she relieved worrying minds by confirming that there was no lasting damage.
At the time of the incident, Jones was serving the ninth game of a crucial third set at the Colsanitas Cup, a WTA 250 tournament. Her unexpected fall saw her lying on the court as medical personnel quickly attended to her needs. In a show of sportsmanship, her opponent, Julia Riera from Argentina, approached to check on Jones and assisted in getting her into a wheelchair.
Just a week before, Jones had bested Riera in straight sets on her path to clinching the W75 Vacaria tournament in Brazil, marking her eighth ITF title.
Meanwhile, in another tournament update, Heather Watson faced an early exit at the Charleston Open, falling to Iryna Shymanovich in a straight-set loss. Watson, currently ranked as the British number seven, was defeated with set scores of 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 by the Belarusian, ranked 215th in the world.
