Jack Pinnington Jones continued his ascent in professional tennis with a victory over Italy’s Franco Agamenone at the Dallas Open on Monday, setting up a second-round encounter against either James Duckworth of Australia or American wildcard Eliot Spizzirri.
The 22-year-old Briton, who secured his first Grand Slam main draw win at Wimbledon last year with a defeat of Tomas Martin Etcheverry, has quickly transitioned from the US college system to the ATP Tour. Pinnington Jones completed his junior season at Texas Christian University (TCU) in May, foregoing his final year to pursue a full-time professional career.
Pinnington Jones’s path to professional tennis has been closely linked with that of British number one Jack Draper. The pair have been friends since their teenage years, often travelling together for early morning training sessions at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, as Draper recalled following their respective winning starts at Wimbledon last year. “Jack is a really good friend of mine, to be honest,” Draper said.
The TCU program has proven to be a successful pathway for British players, with Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley as well having honed their skills at the Fort Worth, Texas university. Norrie, who attended TCU before embarking on his own successful professional career, actively recruited Pinnington Jones to the program. Pinnington Jones noted Draper and Norrie’s achievements as inspiration, expressing his desire to establish a “TCU core” within British tennis.
Pinnington Jones’s decision to turn professional earlier than some anticipated had been questioned by veteran British player Dan Evans, but the Surrey native remains confident in his choice. He felt he needed the competitive environment of college tennis to mature as a player before making the leap to the professional circuit.
Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the upcoming Qatar Open in Doha, citing fatigue following his runner-up finish to Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open. The 38-year-old Serb will now focus on the North American hard court swing.
In Qatar, Elena Rybakina marked her return to competition following her Australian Open triumph with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over China’s Wang Xinyu. Second-seeded Iga Swiatek also advanced with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win over Janice Tjen. However, there was an upset as American fifth seed Coco Gauff fell to Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 6-2. Britain’s Emma Raducanu earlier retired from her first-round match against Camila Osorio.
