Brit Fran Jones taken off court in wheelchair after mid-match collapse

British tennis player Fran Jones has been forced to withdraw from the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota after collapsing in the middle of a match. In footage of the incident posted to social media, the 24-year-old appeared to stagger after failing to return a serve from Argentina’s Julia Riera in the third set and was unable to return to play. She fell to the ground and was removed from the court in a wheelchair.

Jones’ retirement from the tournament was confirmed in an online statement. “Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7 5-3 in favor of the Argentinian,” the Colsanitas Cup’s official X account said. “We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery.



” Riera will next face America’s Iva Jovic in the round of 16. In the US, British number seven Heather Watson suffered a straight-sets defeat in the first round of the Charleston Open. The 32-year-old was beaten 7-6 (8) 6-4 by Belarusian world number 215 Iryna Shymanovich.

Watson saved three set points during a tight opener but could not capitalise on her one opportunity to seize the initiative during the tie break. The world number 182 was broken four times in set two, including in her final two service games, as Shymanovich progressed to a last-32 meeting with top seed Jessica Pegula , the beaten finalist at last year’s US Open..