Britain’s Francesca Jones sobbed loudly on court as injury wrecked her hopes of a first main-draw win at the Australian Open.
Early retirements became a theme on day two in Melbourne, with men’s eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and qualifier Marina Stakusic – who was taken off court in a wheelchair – both forced to retire after cramping.
British number three Jones struggled to move from the early stages of her first-round match against Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova on Monday.
The distraught 25-year-old valiantly tried to continue but ultimately quit when trailing 6-2 3-2.
A groin injury had forced Jones out of a match at last week’s Auckland International, but it was a glute problem that led to her retirement against Klimovicova.
She took a medical timeout at the end of the first set and received further attention from the physio after the third and fifth games of the second set.
The world number 71 was broken to love in the fifth game and was left in tears while receiving treatment.
After getting back to her feet, Jones signalled to Klimovicova that she could not continue.
