‘A very important character for our sport’ – Rafael Nadal sends support to Emma Raducanu following Brit’s early Wimbledon exit

Rafael Nadal has passed on his support to Emma Raducanu amid her ‘tough year’ and hailed her as a ‘very important character’ for tennis.

Raducanu crashed out at the second-round stage on Wednesday following a straight sets defeat to Caroline Garcia.

The 19-year-old has struggled for form since her US Open triumph last September, battling a number of injury problems and making a number of changes to her coaching staff which have all contributed to a lack of consistency on the court.

Like Raducanu, Nadal won his first Grand Slam at the tender age of 19, going onto become a legend of the sport with 22 major successes to his name.

After booking his place in the third-round courtesy of a win over Ricardas Berankis on Thursday evening, Nadal was asked about the young Brit’s elimination after she wore a t-shirt bearing his bull logo during a press conference following her first round win.

And while acknowledging she has endured a ‘tough year’, Nadal believes she will make the right decisions and improve as her career progresses.

‘I honestly never had a big interaction with her,’ Nadal told a press conference. ‘But I was very impressed when I saw her winning the US Open.

‘I saw the final. The way that she played was unbelievable.’

He added: ‘Then it’s difficult to manage all this kind of success at a very early stage of your life, no?

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‘But I wish her all the very best. I think she’s a very important character for our sport.

‘I know she’s having a tough year, but on the other hand she already won a slam at