England rugby boss Eddie Jones has sent a letter to British tennis star Emma Raducanu to explain the comments he made about her form and commercial work, saying they were not meant to be interpreted as criticism.
Jones caused a backlash earlier in the week after he told England’s young fly-half Marcus Smith to be wary of the “flood of distractions” that could come his way as the “next big thing” and referred to the media, fan and commercial attention U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu has received since winning her first Grand Slam.
“There’s a reason why the girl who won the U.S. Open hasn’t done so well afterwards. What have you seen her on? The front page of Vogue, the front page of Harper’s Bazaar, whatever it is, wearing Christian Dior clothes,” Jones said in comments published Sunday.
Jones was met with a backlash, with Olympic gold-medal winner Kate Richardson-Walsh labelling them “ill-informed” and “patronising,” while Judy Murray called them “insensitive.”
Jones was asked about the backlash on Thursday and explained the reasoning behind his comments.
“The whole point was how difficult it is for young players to cope with distractions,” Jones told the BBC.
“So the point I made was not wrong. I can’t control if it’s taken out of context. There was no criticism of Emma. I have sent her a letter just to reinforce that and hopefully we’ll see her at Twickenham shortly.”
He added: “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. [If] It was deemed as being sexist and that was never the aim of the point.”
Raducanu was asked about Jones’ comments following her second-round exit at the Linz Open on Wednesday. The defeat marked the end to Raducanu’s remarkable breakthrough year where she won the U.S. Open in August and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“I think that many people are going to have opinions of me and what I’m doing,” Raducanu, 18, said. “I just know I’m staying focused with a small circle around me. I have my parents, who would 100% let me know if I was getting swayed. I am very zoned in.”