Jones 'sent letter to Raducanu to explain'

LONDON • England rugby coach Eddie Jones has written to British tennis star Emma Raducanu to explain his comments suggesting her poor form was due to off-court "distractions" since her stunning US Open triumph in September.

Jones, speaking in the immediate aftermath of England's 69-3 victory over Tonga last week, was discussing his view that Marcus Smith must remain level-headed after the 22-year-old fly-half came off the bench to direct a late burst of tries and the importance of avoiding off-pitch distractions.

He added: "There's a reason why the young girl who won the US Open hasn't done so well afterwards.

"What have you seen her on - the front page of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar or whatever it is, wearing Christian Dior clothes. All that are distractions around her."

The Australian was criticised in some quarters for not using 18-year-old Raducanu's name in the wake of her remarkable victory at Flushing Meadows and by others for what they considered a misguided analysis.

The 61-year-old's language was also deemed sexist by the likes of former British tennis No. 1 Jo Durie, while some noted Raducanu's appearance in Vogue had been before she travelled to New York, where she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Jones insisted on Thursday there was no sexist intent behind his comments and that he had written to Raducanu to explain his remarks.

"The whole point was how difficult it is for young players to cope with distractions," he told BBC Sport.

"So the point I made was not wrong. I can't control it if it's taken out of context.

"There was no criticism of Emma. I have sent her a letter just to reinforce that.

"I don't have any misgivings about what I said - I am disappointed it was taken out of context, and I would be disappointed if Emma was upset by it. It was deemed as being sexist and that was never the aim."

Raducanu has struggled since her New York success, winning just two matches in three tournaments despite moving into the world's top 20 for the first time in her career.

She was knocked out in the second round of the WTA Tour event in Linz, Austria on Tuesday by Wang Xinyu, the world No. 106.

The teenager had responded to Jones' initial comments by insisting that tennis was her No. 1 priority.

"I made it very, very clear to every single person in my team that I was not going to cancel one training session or practice session for any off-court commitments," she said before losing 6-1, 6-7 (0-7), 7-5 to Wang.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS