GB's Jones takes Challenger title in Palermo

Briton Francesca Jones claimed her second Challenger Tour title in dominant fashion with a 6-3 6-2 win against Anouk Koevermans in Palermo.

The 24-year-old will climb to 84th in the world when the rankings are released on Monday - the first time she has featured inside the top 100.

England's Jones lost in the first round at Wimbledon earlier this month but has since won successive Challenger Tour events on clay and is currently the fourth alternate for the main draw of next month's US Open.

She broke her Dutch opponent to lead 5-3 and then served out to take the opening set.

Jones, who did not drop a set at the Palermo Ladies Open, carried that momentum into the second and broke again in the opening game, before going up a double break at 4-1 and sealing the success.

The Bradford-born player reached her first WTA semi-final in 2023 but struggled to build on that run and has never been beyond the first round at a Grand Slam event.

Fellow Briton George Loffhagen came up short in his first Challenger Tour final, losing 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 against Spain's Nicolas Alvarez Varona in Segovia.

Leylah Fernandez picked up the biggest win of her career with a 6-1 6-2 victory against Anna Kalinskaya at the Washington Open.

A double fault from Russia's Kalinskaya handed Fernandez a break to lead 3-1 and she broke again for 5-1 before serving out the first set.

Kalinskaya struggled with the humid conditions in the second as Canada's Fernandez further tightened her grip with another double break helping her to take the set in 40 minutes.

It was Fernandez's first appearance in a final since losing at Eastbourne in June 2024 and her maiden WTA 500 title.

Her victory saw her climb from world number 36 to 24 and she now heads to her homeland for the Canadian Open in Montreal, where she will face Australian Maya Joint in the first round.

Joint's compatriot Alex de Minaur won the men's title in Washington DC after saving three match points against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The Australian number one rallied from a set down before riding his luck in the third set to win 5-7 6-1 7-6 (7-3).

Victory at the ATP 500 event meant a 10th career title for De Minaur and ensured he entered the world's top 10 before next month's US Open, taking him from 13th to eighth in the rankings.