Sloane Stephens hails 14-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova as a 'great tennis player'

Tennis star Sloane Stephens hailed 14-year-old prodigy Brenda Fruhvirtova as a ‘great player’.

Stephens and Fruhvirtova met in the first round of the Abierto Akron Zapopan, a WTA 250 event in Guadalajara.

Despite defeating her young opponent 6-2, 6-2 in just 58 minutes, Stephens was full of praise for Fruhvirtova.

“She was probably a bit nervous,” Stephens said. “She’s a great player, [she’s] had great results. Looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.”

Fruhvirtova was making her WTA Tour main draw debut, having defeated Italy’s Sara Errani and Leonie Kung of Switzerland in the qualifiers.

The Czech star became the youngest player to compete in a Tour match since the USA’s Madison Keys in 2009.

Fruhvirtova entered the Abierto Akron Zapopan in exceptional form, having won two International Tennis Federation events in Argentina earlier this month.

She became the youngest female competitor to triumph at an ITF tournament in six years.

Fruhvirtova is currently ranked 435th in the world, rocketing up from a spot outside the top 1000 just two weeks ago.

Stephens will now move on to play either Spanish qualifier Rebekah Masarova or France’s Chloe Paquet in the second round of the Abierto Akron Zapopan.

If she emerges victorious, a potential rematch against US Open champion Emma Raducanu awaits.

The pair met in the first round of the Australian Open last month, with Raducanu eventually winning the three-set thriller.

The British star faces Australia’s Daria Saville in the first round tomorrow, with the match set to take place at 1am GMT.

Brenda Fruhvirtova, remember the name