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Francesca Jones, who overcame a rare illness, qualified for the Grand Slam in Australia
The British tennis player, with 4 fingers in each hand, continues to succeed against all odds and qualified for the first Grand Slam: "Wants to inspire and give hope to children"
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Francesca Jones
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Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 12:48 p.m.
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Amazing.
Jones (Photo: GettyImages, Tom Dulat)
Francesca Jones, the British tennis player who suffers from a rare syndrome and is developing a tennis career against all odds, qualified for the Grand Slam tournament today (Wednesday) for the first time in her life, when she won the third round of the Australian Championship qualifiers.
The 20-year-old Jones, who has only 4 fingers in her right hand and 4 in her left hand, defeated Lu Ja Ling 0: 6, 1: 6 in just 61 minutes.
This is the first time Jones has played in a Grand Slam qualifier outside of England, completing the feat in matches held in Doha.
"I am super excited, and already looking forward to coming to Australia," she said, "I have never been there and I am sure it will be an amazing experience."
Francesca (Fran) Jones was born on September 19, 2000 in Leeds, England, and suffered from Ectrodactyly Ectodermal Dysplasia.
It is a syndrome characterized by a rare genetic defect.
The symptoms of the disease vary from patient to patient and can be more or less severe, but in most cases they include loss of fingers or toes.
In Jones' case the disease left her from birth with only a toe and three toes in each hand and with three toes on her strong right foot and four on the left.
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Let your fingers go in your place: the inspiring story of tennis player Francesca Jones
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In addition, she has one arm shorter than the other, and over the course of her life has undergone a large amount of surgeries, which have made doctors doubt her ability to play, let alone develop a professional career.
But despite all the teasing and contempt, the British do not give up.
"The reason why I am committed to tennis professionals and so want to achieve great things is that I want people to see the positive side of what I could achieve, and inspiring them," she said, "would be great to have a positive effect on children and people who are in a similar situation to mine.
" However At the same time, I know there are a lot of other tennis players here with ambitions like mine.
I think this balance that will accompany me throughout my career will be important.
I would like people to look at my story and see what they can take from it. "
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