"It was deemed as being sexist" - Eddie Jones claims comments about Raducanu were taken out of context

After coming under fire for his recent criticism regarding British tennis star Emma Raducanu, England Rugby coach Eddie Jones has stated that his comments were taken out of context.

Earlier in the week, Jones cited off-court distractions as the main reason Raducanu has struggled since her US Open triumph.

"There’s a reason why the young girl (Raducanu) who won the US Open hasn’t done so well afterwards,” he said in a press conference. “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 is a distraction around her.”

Jones received major backlash for his comments from fans and other sporting figures, with many labeling his comments as unfair and even sexist.

“I don’t have any misgivings about what I said,” Jones said in an interview with BBC Sport. “I am disappointed it was taken out of context, and I would be disappointed if Raducanu was upset by it.

“It was deemed as being sexist and that was never the aim of the point.”

The 61-year old attempted to clarify his comments even further, and offered an olive branch to the 18-year old tennis star.

“The whole point was how difficult it is for young players to cope with distractions,” added Jones. “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, to watch England play.”