Jones defeats Venus Williams in Miami, then reflects on idol across the net

Francesca Jones paused as she reached the net. After a 7-5, 7-5 win over Venus Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Thursday, she bowed, and Williams smiled as the two shared an embrace.

The match brought together two players separated by a generation. Williams, 45, was making her 22nd appearance in Miami, where she is a three-time champion. Three of those appearances came before Jones was born in 2000. 

Jones, ranked No. 93, earned her first career win at a WTA 1000 event and the 17th tour-level victory of her career. She improved to 3-4 at WTA-level in 2026, with Thursday’s result her first win since January. 

Since the format’s introduction in 2009, Jones is the first player to record a first WTA 1000 match-win over a former World No. 1. It was a result made more notable by who was across the net.

“I mean, she's amazing,” Jones said. “It's phenomenal. People might focus on the fact that she's lost consecutive matches, but I think we have to recognize that [recently] she's played some tough three-setters. She doesn't lose the serve [often], and it's the vital part of the game. Of course, her movement isn't what it used to be, but I think there's no reason she can't win matches, and I fully believe that she's at a level where she can compete.

“I just think she just needs to keep going. She's building.”

Jones described the matchup as a full-circle moment, one that stretched back to childhood -- to trips to Wimbledon with her father, watching Venus and Serena Williams on Centre Court, and to the posters that still hang on her bedroom wall at home.

It was those early experiences, she said, that “made me trust myself,” and that she would “figure a way out to get here,” even at a time when she was being told tennis might not be possible.

Williams, the oldest player in the women’s singles draw, extended the match into two tight sets, continuing a recent stretch of competitive outings that have included multiple three-set matches against higher-ranked opponents.

"It's difficult to ignore who's walking on the court,” Jones said, "especially when she's wearing a shiny gray jacket, which is pretty cool. But I'm grateful to have had the opportunity. I'm glad that I got out there and had the opportunity to play against an idol like that."