AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2026

Francesca Jones

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the pre-tournament press conference for Francesca Jones.

Welcome to Melbourne. How is it? Have you recovered from your lack of sleep?

FRANCESCA JONES: I have, yeah. That was a while ago. I've been here for a while now.

Q. The problem that you had in Auckland?

FRANCESCA JONES: It was my leg, right leg.

Q. How has that been?

FRANCESCA JONES: We've done everything we can to be fit for what looks like Monday for me. Obviously frustrating. But, yeah, should be able to play on it, hopefully.

Q. You must have been happy with your level though, being a top-20 player and coming back. That was a crazy comeback in the second match. How are you feeling about that?

FRANCESCA JONES: Of course. Like, it was great to start the year with that. Every player wants to start the year with a win. Kind of puts you in good stead for the season.

I think it's just a mental barrier to break. It's like a relief. For me especially being at that level, beating someone at that level, it was, you know, really an accomplishment feeling I would say.

But, of course, you know, as always for me the physicality is still a challenge, to stay fit. You know when you start the year at that level and playing back-to-back three-setters, it's challenging. Most people the first week would struggle with that. I think also for me that level of demand, when you play someone like Emma Navarro, who is one of the physically better players on tour, so that is going to continue to be my challenge backing it up.

Q. In terms of physicality, a bit hot over the last couple of days here. How would you cope with that, and what kind of mechanisms do you use?

FRANCESCA JONES: I mean, it's a bit hotter, but it's not crazy hot. I haven't checked it this morning, but it looks like it is going to be like 29, 30. That's not too bad, to be honest.

Yeah, but we always kind of prepare for worst-case scenario when it comes to conditions in terms of hydration and the nutritional stuff. So I'm not too worried about that.

Q. Do you know anything about your opponent?

FRANCESCA JONES: Honestly, I don't. I haven't coincided that much with her. I saw the draw Thursday evening, but I'll look into it today and tomorrow.

I know she's a big hitter. Obviously for qualifying players, having been one myself, you know, winning matches on these courts I think they're always dangerous. They come in with a bit more momentum. Having to pull out of Hobart this week, obviously, I need to rebuild a little bit coming into this event.

Q. First time in main draw on ranking, what does that mean to you?

FRANCESCA JONES: It means a lot. In terms of the way it sets up the calendar, as well, it's much more comfortable because if you're qualifying, sometimes you don't have anything to play the week before and you come straight into the quallies.

So it has been quite nice just to have Auckland and then you know to an extent to spend a week here, as well. Even if I pulled out of Hobart, there's benefits and good things and come out of that.

It really changes the way that you kind of look at the year. Like I have a set calendar until end of grass season now, and that's a huge benefit.

Yeah, I'm really grateful that I managed to have the year I did last year. But tennis starts again. Well, I guess not now, but when the 1st January hits you start with zero points, unless you have points (indiscernible) ranking. But ultimately it's about the accumulation from 1st of Jan, so we start again. Hopefully I can back up the year.

Q. Does it feel different being a top-100 player now?

FRANCESCA JONES: I think it's the set calendar thing, which you kind of get if you're within that 1-20 range. You kind of can do that "ish." But you're almost at that point where you may or may not get into Masters or qualifying, stuff like that.

Whereas now I think I should be kind of within the main draws of Indian Wells, Miami. It's just comfortable in that sense.

Obviously there's the financial benefit, which is why players chase it in the first place. But for me, I try and take the focus away from numbers and rankings and all that and just focus on the week by week.

Q. I was listening to the podcast you did with Caroline Garcia, and you said that if you didn't make top 100 last year, you were considering retiring?

FRANCESCA JONES: Yep.

Q. It's hard to say now since you reached the goal...

FRANCESCA JONES: How serious I was about it?

Q. Yeah.

FRANCESCA JONES: Yes, I was very serious. You will probably hear me going on. But yeah, I have a joke about me, but I was going to swear then, which I probably shouldn't do. But I'm a no-bullshit person. So for me, it was a case of I'm going to go all out for one more year.

There was stuff at the end of '24 that I thought I maybe hadn't tried and wanted to tweak. I think a couple of internal changes I had to make with myself, as well.

It was just a process. Last year was a process. But I didn't expect last year to go the way that it did. As I said, my tennis level has always been there, my mentality is there, but there are other things amongst it that were challenging for me over the previous couple of seasons.

Yeah, I was clear. I said to my whole team, my parents were aware. Okay, if I would have been 101, then I wasn't going to quit. But it was kind of a feeling that I had. I had played back-to-back tournaments. It was smaller objectives that if I completed those, would have led to me being top 100. So it wasn't necessarily seeing a top 100 number. It was just making sure those things I felt I needed to tick box in order to achieve that that I did.

Q. I know you talked about being kinder to yourself and having more balance off the court, but how important is it to put pressure on yourself and focus?

FRANCESCA JONES: Yeah, 100%. Like for me, I'm sometimes too accountable on that, and that causes that extended pressure that I maybe don't need. I do take a lot of responsibility for how I go about things.

So, yeah, I think it's learning when I need to switch off, switch off. Allowing myself to kind of live experiences that I haven't had before.

I have been all-in with tennis from the get go. I think that for me, you know, in the last year it was just trying to off the court trying to make sure I did new things that I haven't done before.

It was small things. One of my best friends got married in February. That was something away from tennis. I think I told you guys I went to Ibiza before US Open and then I passed quallies.

So these small things trying to -- obviously dosage, but dose them across the year are important. Yeah, I'm comfortable with where things are at.

Q. When you consider your future, what are you thinking about the rest of your life, what direction would that go, and kind of now what you're thinking about those future ambitions?

FRANCESCA JONES: Yeah, I mean, look, I have always been academic. For me, it was always a big thing in my life to make sure I could take my brain elsewhere. You know, tennis challenges you and stimulates you in a way that I don't think you can replicate with probably anything else.

Not to say that our sport is a harder sport, because I think every sport comes with its own challenges. I would then like to take those learnings into an industry that I believe that fast decision-making could allow me to be successful in a different way.

What exactly that would be, I think I would have to, you know, trial and error. But, you know, I have always been quite open about the fact that I love law, politics, but at the same time, I think post-tennis it's important to not rush into anything else as well. So I'd probably take on a passion project first whilst I kind of decide on the rest of my pathway.

Q. When you set yourself a target like you did last year, going into this year does it feel like you can swing a lot freer?

FRANCESCA JONES: It's a good question. You can argue it both ways. I think, you know, to an extent, yes, because I've hit a goal. I think a lot of the pressure would still be on the other opponents.

But by the same token, that wasn't my sole career goal to be top 100. That was the first barrier. I have other goals that now I've set for myself. You know, I put myself under pressure to try and achieve those goals.

I think first thing is first, is if we're all sat here this time next year and I played another full season, I would say that's a success for me.

Q. Have you got any interesting goals, sorry projects or activities you're doing at the moment for the off-court balance?

FRANCESCA JONES: I would say that for me, taking on other things alongside tennis, is always a challenge in the sense that when it comes to possibly studies or exams, professional exams. So you know during COVID I did a couple of my studies to become a financial advisor and do a couple of the exams for that. But you get to a certain point where there's dates involved, and annoyingly a lot of them are around the grass season.

So yes, I will be learning new things and make sure that that's the case, but I think you get to the point where you get stagnated because other places need more commitment.

So I'm still trying to better myself and extend my knowledge. But there's only, you know, a certain level of qualifications that I can get to before you maybe need to start being sat in investment houses with people and et cetera, et cetera.

Like, I can't really give them any dates for that. Obviously if I picked up another injury which this looks like wood, touch wood, isn't going to be the case, then I would put myself in those positions.

Q. Would you set yourself another make-or-break goal like you did last year or is it more about now proving to yourself that physically you can stay here and ...

FRANCESCA JONES: Consistency. Just consistency on the tour for this year. That's the sole, the sole goal for me.

Q. You mentioned playing against Navarro, and that's a mental barrier. I think you're someone who backs yourself and confident in your abilities. What's the barrier to get a win like that?

FRANCESCA JONES: Honestly, I think to be put in those positions a little bit more, which is the benefit of, you know, it might be yourself who asked me what's the difference starting the top 100, I can't remember who asked me. But that's one of the things you put in the draw to be playing these better players.

I think for me it's exposure. So when I actually saw that draw, I was quite content about it because for me you match up your level. So I think sometimes as players within my current ranking bracket, you get to that point where, okay, can I go further. You want to try and make sure that you can compete with these players.

In terms of top-20 players, I don't think I've played too many. So you want to start levelling yourself up, you know. Being in Barcelona for pre-season for a couple of weeks was really beneficial because, you know, I was training with (indiscernible) a couple of days and playing sets against her.

Yes, I might win one or two when it comes to practice but, you know, you want to take that to the competition court because the mental game plays much more of a part.

So I think purely exposure for myself. Again, yes, I know I have the tennis level, but you will only get better by playing those players. You can train as much as you like, but until I feel like I'm consistently competing against them, that's the only way that will make me that little bit sharper.

Q. Are you doing anything fun in the off-season or go on any trips?

FRANCESCA JONES: I did. It was kind of like a lifelong goal for me. I wanted to always go and see Machu Picchu. So I loved history at school. So I kind of said to myself, if I made the top 100, I would go to Peru.

I did sort of like an 11-day itinerary around Peru. And then my fitness coach is in New York, so I started the pre-season there at the McEnroe Academy because they've got a good couple of junior boys who run me left right and center to make sure I was fit again.

So I went to Peru and that was a kind of a really nice end to the season for me, it was something I always wanted to do.

Q. Did you do the trek or?

FRANCESCA JONES: I would like to say that I did. I did a lot of hiking. So I did a lot of couple-of-hours hikes. But I don't think my team would have been very happy about me saying, yeah, I'm going to go do the five-day hike to Machu Picchu, because it's something like 10 to 12 hours on average walking a day, and that wasn't what I needed.

But I certainly am not someone that can sit on the beach in the Maldives for two weeks either. So I tried to find a middle ground.

Q. Did it live up to your expectations?

FRANCESCA JONES: It really did. Sorry, I was going to swear again. We were bloody lucky, because it was really good weather. A lot of people see Machu Picchu in the clouds because of how high up it is and the altitude.

We got the brightest, sunniest days, both days. Like, I had messed up because I had put leggings in and everything. I was soaked, sweaty, walking around there.

So yeah, I would recommend it to anyone, honestly, because you can get a train journey in there. It's great. It's really worth it.

Q. Have you talked to Emma this season yet?

FRANCESCA JONES: Yeah, we obviously speak quite a lot. But she's playing tomorrow, so I think she'll be on and off site quite quickly. She only got in yesterday. So I haven't managed to check in too much with her. But we speak a lot.

Obviously she's been in Barcelona training with Francisco. It's nice to have her around.

Q. Thank you.

FRANCESCA JONES: Thanks, guys.