British tennis player Fran Jones backed calls for an inquest into the state of the sport in the UK after another disappointing showing at a grand slam.
Jones was the last Briton standing at the US Open, but her defeat by 14th seed Iva Jovic on Thursday night meant none of the nine players who reached the main draw made it past the second round.
Britain’s best hope, Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery, got a tough first-round draw and was beaten by 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Cameron Norrie, Jan Choinski and Henry Wendelken also fell at the first hurdle while Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel – who did well to get through qualifying and win his first grand slam main-draw match – Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Jones lost in the second round.
Jones pointed to the absence through injury of Britain’s most established stars, former world No 4 Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, but said there “definitely” needs to be an inquiry into what went wrong.
She said: “You want to see people get to the back end of tournaments. But the top players aren’t here. Jack and Emma are our best players.
“A couple of tough draws, I’d say. But you’d have to play a seed in the second round. You have to beat the best to be the best.
“It was good to see everyone win the matches they probably should be winning, but you’ve got to be able to beat the seeds.
“Do I think there could be an inquest? I always think there’s things that British tennis could do better. So yes, definitely. Do I think it’s something that’s concerning? No, not at all.
“Things happen. The level is getting better and everyone is dangerous on their day. People might lose (in the) second round but you might see someone reach semis, like Arthur.”
Draper has been sidelined for much of the last year and a half, with several attempted comebacks aborted due to a recurring bone bruising injury which has resulted in him toppling down the rankings.
Raducanu meanwhile has endured her own struggles with injury since her stunning win as a qualifier at the 2021 US Open, and is absent in New York this month due to a stress fracture in her leg which also forced her to miss Wimbledon.
Her opponent in the final that day in 2021, this year’s 31st seed Leylah Fernandez, has urged Raducanu not to come back too soon and risk further problems.
The Canadian said: “It’s hard. You are sidelined and there is always that internal battle of ‘ah, let me get back earlier than expected’.
“But that doesn’t help in the long run. You always have to see the short-term gains and long-term gains. It’s that continuous battle.”
With PA
