Miami Open: Britain’s Fran Jones beats hero Venus Williams as Iga Swiatek suffers surprise defeat

Britain’s Fran Jones said it “means everything” as she defeated her childhood hero Venus Williams in the first round of the Miami Open.

Jones claimed a 7-5 7-5 victory over seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams, who – at 45-years-old – was the oldest player in the women’s singles draw.

It is a first career WTA 1000 win for the 25-year-old, while it was Williams’ ninth successive defeat since a first-round win at Washington last summer.

Meanwhile, second seed Iga Swiatek was stunned by world number 50 Magda Linette, who fought back from a set down to win 1-6 7-5 6-3 in the second round.

It is the first time in 74 tournaments that Swiatek, who received a first-round bye, has lost her opening match in a WTA Tour event.

The reigning Wimbledon champion has failed to advance past the quarter-finals in all four of the tournaments she has played at in 2026.

“I stopped doing anything well tactically,” Swiatek said after the defeat by her Polish compatriot.

“It just was a bad match for me in the second and third sets. Unconsciously, or consciously, it’s hard for me to say. I need to work to get back from that, because I haven’t felt things like that for like five years.”