Twenty minutes into her time at the 2026 French Open, Emma Raducanu already appeared to be on her way out. Trailing 0-4, 30-40 on her serve, the games falling from her at warp speed, this was the moment for Raducanu to fight, to at least try to keep herself in contention. She responded by badly shanking a backhand, which flew high into the sky before bouncing far out.

This point epitomised a miserable day on court for Raducanu, whose last-minute fightback was not enough to turn the match around as she lost 6-0, 7-6 (4) at Roland Garros, beaten by the unseeded Argentinian Solana Sierra.

At the same time that Raducanu struggled on court 13, 20 metres away on court 14, her close friend Fran Jones engineered one of the most meaningful wins of her career.

Despite trailing 1-6, 0-2 against Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jones offered an unforgettable demonstration of her supreme fighting spirit as she fought back to close out her first grand slam main-draw win with a stellar 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory against the Brazilian.

Expectations were already low for Raducanu before the tournament due to her poor preparation. Her first-round loss in Strasbourg a few days earlier marked her first match in more than two months after being sidelined due to post-viral illness. This is merely the latest struggle in an endless series of obstacles that have repeatedly derailed her career for the past few years.

In her post-match press conference, a question about the difficulty of navigating a career that has had so many physical setbacks drew tears from Raducanu: “It’s very difficult,” she said. “I think you need a lot of resilience. I’m trying my best each day, and I think that’s all I can ask of myself.”

After coughing throughout her match on court, Raducanu stood outside the room coughing loudly before starting her press conference. Still, she refused to cite the lingering symptoms from her post-viral illness as a reason for her difficulties. “I can’t really explain it right now,” she said. “I don’t really – haven’t processed it fully. It was really difficult. I went on the court. I felt like the conditions were extremely lively and I wasn’t able to trust my shots in that and didn’t feel I had control over the ball.

“It was just a really difficult kind of setup for me to step into having not had many matches. I think probably just a bit light on matches, a bit light on confidence coming into the tournament.”

Meanwhile, Jones’s victory signifies a positive step forward after enduring so many setbacks on the biggest stages. The 25-year-old had failed to win any of her six grand slam main-draw matches, her most recent defeat a retirement in the Australian Open.

This has been a bruising year for so many reasons. In addition to the physical challenges that come with her condition, ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia, Jones started the year by suffering a bad fall in Melbourne and struggling with injury. Then she sustained a concussion in a freak accident while training in a gym.

Jones, who considers clay her favourite surface, is in the French Open main draw for the first time. It is a reflection of her unquenchable fight and mindset that she has finally found her way into the second round.

“I think I’m not one to toot my own trumpet, but I do say that I’m a mentality monster in many ways, and I think in these moments I either find that or you’re done and dusted against these players, you’ve got no chance to get back in,” said Jones. “I just tried to make it very uncomfortable for her, and every point mattered.”

After securing the victory and receiving a tight hug from Haddad Maia, who Jones describes as “one of my biggest fans”, a tearful Jones ran over to her player box to embrace her parents. “Normally I’m one to say you shouldn’t cry until the tournament is over, but I think everything I’ve been through this year, it’s really been challenging. Really tough on my parents throughout the whole concussion process and all that. They’ve been on the other side of the world.

“Obviously I can’t speak much about it, but it was in US, so it’s tough for them, different time zones, calling from hospitals and not understanding bloody American medical insurance shite.

“So it was a really challenge, and they’ve just suffered with me, even from a distance. Of course, you can look at the bigger picture, but truly the emotion for me isn’t about the bigger picture. It’s much more about how tough this year has been.”