A British tennis player who suffers from a rare genetic condition reached her maiden Grand Slam main draw after winning a qualifying event in Dubai.
Francesca Jones beat China's Lu Jiajing in the final round of Australian Open qualifying at the Aviation Club on Wednesday.
Jones suffers from ectrodactyly ectodermal dysplasia syndrome, a condition which meant she was born with three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on her right foot and four toes on her left.
The 20-year-old was told by doctors as a child that she would not be able to pursue a professional tennis career due to her physical disadvantages.
That only spurred Jones on to prove them wrong.
The world No 241 has made a habit of overcoming the odds and added a new chapter to her story when she beat China's Lu 6-0, 6-1 to book her ticket for Melbourne.
"I'm just super happy to qualify and really looking forward to getting out to Australia," said Jones, who has had over 10 surgeries in her life already.
"I've never been before and I'm sure it's going to be an amazing experience. I guess any draw for me would be a fascinating one. I look forward to any match I'll play, whether it'll be Serena Williams or another qualifier."
Jones will now board a chartered flight to Melbourne where the players will serve a mandatory 14-day quarantine before warm-up events start on January 31 before the Australian Open.
Also joining the Briton on the flight will be Italy's former world No 5 Sara Errani, who was a Roland Garros runner-up, a US Open semi-finalist and an Australian Open quarter-finalist in 2012 before slipping down the rankings.
The 33-year-old, currently ranked 131, booked her spot for the February 8-21 Grand Slam at Melbourne Park with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Croatian Ana Konjuh in the final round of qualifying.
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Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
