Bradford's Fran Jones learning to be patient over realising her ambitions
FRAN JONES has never made any secret about her career ambitions – but she acknowledges she perhaps needs to be more patient at times over her progress.
This week marked another first for the Bradford-born 24-year-old after she made her debut in the main draw of the US Open.
And while it ultimately ended in a 6-0 7-5 defeat to Germany’s Eva Lys, the world No 89 remained upbeat.
Next up for Jones is the Guadalajara Open in Mexico, part of the WTA 125 Tour where her recent tournament triumphs in France and Italy, on the back of her latest Wimbledon appearance, saw her break into top 100 world rankings for the first time.
There will be no shortage of confidence from Jones going into the event which starts on Monday.
“I’m trying to go with the flow and take advantage of the fact that I’m fit this season and keep trying to play the full season and see where that gets me,” said Jones.
“I know what I need to improve and, of course, and with some of this I’m still a novice but I’m comfortable with where I’m at from a tennis perspective.
“There are a lot of tournaments I’ve not played yet and so, for me, the rest of the year is just about managing myself in these situations and playing these kinds of players (Lys) and playing different, or maybe tougher conditions.
“I’m very ambitious and I will keep trying to find new levels but I’ve also just got to be patient with myself.
"I just think I’ve got a lot to learn and I’m trying to see that as a positive but it’s so easy at times I get frustrated within that as well as I want to get better.
"I know and I trust myself to push myself to the very limit to find where my potential is.”
After Mexico, Jones – who made her grand slam debut at the Australian Open back in 2021 – will head to Brazil to compete in the Sao Paulo Open.