Australian Open 2026: Francesca Jones, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Marina Starcusic all withdraw due to injury in Melbourne

Britain’s Francesca Jones cried loudly on court as an injury dashed her hopes of a maiden main draw victory at the Australian Open.

Early retirements were the theme of day two in Melbourne, with men’s eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and qualifier Marina Starcusic (who was taken off in a wheelchair) both forced to retire due to cramps.

Britain’s third-ranked Jones struggled in the early stages of her first-round match against Polish qualifier Linda Klimovicova on Monday.

The distraught 25-year-old tried valiantly to continue but eventually gave up when trailing 2-6 3-2.

Jones missed last week’s Auckland international with a groin injury, but a hip problem caused her to withdraw from her match against Klimovikova.

She received a medical timeout at the end of the first set and received further attention from a physical therapist after the third and fifth games of the second set.

The world No. 71 broke out in love during the fifth match and broke down in tears while receiving treatment.

After standing up, Jones signaled to Klimovichova that she could not continue.