FRANCESCA Jones has been unable to replicate last year’s run to the main draw of the Australian Open.

The 21-year-old, who is from Oxenhope, went up against Usue Maitane Arconada yesterday in the first qualifying round, ahead of the tournament proper getting underway next Monday.

But Jones, who was seeded 29th in the women’s singles for qualifying, had a nightmare against her American opponent Arconada.

The young Brit was 5-1 down in the first set when she was forced to retire through injury, gifting Arconada a walkover victory.

It was a far cry from Jones’ success in Melbourne last year, which put her on the tennis map.

The young prospect, who suffers from a congenital condition which means she has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on one foot and four toes on the other, had never qualified for the main draw of a major tournament before.

But last January, she beat Monica Niculescu, Jana Fett and Lu Jia-jing to make it into the first round of the Australian Open.

She was beaten 6-4, 6-1 in the first round proper by America’s Shelby Rogers, and having received a wildcard, she also played in the main draw at Wimbledon in June.

She was beaten in the first round there by American teenage sensation Coco Gauff, going down 7-5, 6-4.