Emma Raducanu defended over two things after 'radical' Brit crashes out of French Open

Emma Raducanu has been defended by one of the greats of the sport following her second-round exit from the French Open. Chris Evert explained that the surface was all new to the teenager, who was making her debut at the tournament, and rubbished the idea that Raducanu had been distracted by brand deals instead of focusing on her tennis.

Raducanu blew a one-set lead to suffer her second defeat in less than eight months to world No 47 Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6 6-1 6-1, having lost to her in her first match after winning the US Open in Indian Wells. But she was defended by 18-time Grand Slam champion Evert who claimed the 19-year-old gave it a good go on an all-new surface.

"I just want to add on top, she hasn't really played that much on red clay either and you could tell by the way she was moving," the retired legend said on Eurosport. "She wasn't sliding comfortably, she wasn't going in and out of corners comfortably. She was kind of outta whack there so you gotta hand it to her, she hasn't had that experience on red clay."

And the former world No 1 was also quick to defend Raducanu on a personal level for handling her overnight success "beautifully". The US Open champion has received criticism for signing brand deals with the likes of Dior and Evian in the months since her historic title win with some chalking her losses down to being "distracted" from tennis, but Evert said the teenager was completely focused on her game.

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"And also, when you talk about her life, I mean it's changed. She's a superstar," she continued. "Look what it did to Naomi Osaka, where Naomi had to take a break because it was not an easy transition and I just want to