British tennis player with only six fingers wins Wimbledon wildcard

A teenage tennis star hopes to go all the way to the top after earning the Wimbledon wildcard - despite having only eight fingers and seven toes.

Fran Jones, 18, was born with rare genetic disorder ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia cleft lip/palate - commonly known as EED or EEC.

It means that she was born with webbed fingers and, after countless operations, today has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, four toes on her left foot, and just three toes on her right foot.

Her missing digits affect her racket grip and her balance, and medical professionals told her that becoming a top tennis player would be "impossible".

But the young player has worked hard to defy the odds, ranking in the top 300 in the world, and now securing a wildcard in this year's Wimbledon tournament, which begins next Monday, July 1.

And Jones, who moved to Barcelona by herself at just nine years old to train at the same academy as Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, is now determined to make it to the top.

The determined tennis prodigy told Sky News: "I always say the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. That's my motto, I definitely live by it."

Her aim is to be the best player in the world, which she says takes "constant hard work and really pushing your limits".

"I know that I've struggled so far throughout my years in tennis, and I'm not expecting to just see rainbows and unicorns when I hopefully make it to the top," she said.

"But I don't think anyone should be limited by other people's opinions."

Describing her disorder to Sky News, she said she has lost count of the number of operations she has had over the years.

"It comes with quite a lot of symptoms. I've got three toes on my right foot, four on my left. I have four fingers on each hand, less teeth than most people," said Jones.

"I was born with a cleft palate and with webbed fingers, so I've had quite a few operations over the years."

Jones' proud coach, Albert Portas, said that she is "more impressive" than the other players that have made it through to the Wimbledon tournament.

He said: "She's not like the rest of the players. Of course she has to work specifically on some things, especially on taking care of her body a little differently.

"But as you can see, now she's in the top 300. I think she has no limits."