Who is Francesca Jones? British player with 8 fingers, 7 toes set for US Open debut

Francesca Jones, the 24-year-old Briton, is set to make her debut in the main draw of the 2025 US Open. Currently ranked No. 89, Jones booked her spot at the hard-court major by winning three straight-set qualifying matches, defeating Viktoria Hruncakova, Ekaterine Gorgodze and Arianne Hartono.

Despite her progress, Jones has yet to advance beyond the opening round of a Grand Slam. She previously featured in the first rounds of the Australian Open in 2021 and Wimbledon in 2021, 2024 and 2025. At Flushing Meadows, she will open her campaign against Germany’s Eva Lys on Monday, August 25.

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Born in 2000 in Bradford, Jones entered the world with a rare genetic condition called Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia (EED), growing up with three fingers and a thumb on each hand, along with just seven toes—three on one foot and four on the other.

‘Will keep dreaming big until I die’

Doctors initially warned that pursuing a career in sport would be out of reach for her. Instead of accepting those doubts, Jones turned them into fuel, using her resilience and determination to carve a path in professional tennis, proving that her physical challenges would never dictate her potential.

“The experience of a doctor telling me playing tennis was an almost impossible challenge was powerful. It made it a challenge in my head,” Jones said in an interview with BBC Sport last year.

"My competitiveness is what has got me to this point and the determination to keep pushing myself. People need to keep dreaming big and I will keep dreaming big until the day I die,” Jones added.

Francesca Jones rises

At just nine years old, Francesca Jones took a bold step in her journey by joining the renowned Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona. It was there that she refined her game and built the technical versatility needed to thrive at the highest level, adapting her style to overcome the unique challenges posed by her physiology.

Jones first captured the spotlight in 2021 when she qualified for the Australian Open, marking her debut on the Grand Slam stage. Four years later, in July 2025, she entered the finest phase of her career to date.

Competing with unwavering consistency, she captured back-to-back WTA 125 titles in Contrexeville and Palermo without dropping a set. The triumphs not only showcased her resilience and growth but also propelled her into the world’s top 100 for the first time, reaching a career-high of No. 84 by the end of the month.