Chinese tennis star Zhang Shuai burst into tears at her French Open press convention after being dumped out of the event by Magdalena Frech within the opening spherical. Zhang hit seven double faults and solely scored 11 factors on her function she was crushed 6-1, 6-1 in Paris.

When she confronted Chinese media after the defeat, Zhang seemed extraordinarily distressed and struggled to talk with out sobbing. The world No 31 has been in a horrible rut just lately and has now misplaced eight matches in a row this 12 months.

Zhang is underneath strain exterior of the courtroom as a result of her rocky relationship with the Chinese Tennis Federation. She has not returned to China for 3 years and regardless of being the highest-ranked participant in her house nation she was not chosen to signify China on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The determination was reportedly related to her insistence on taking part in at Wimbledon in 2021, which ended simply 11 days earlier than the Olympics.

As heartbreaking photographs emerged on-line of Zhang crying, Australian tennis star John Millman rushed to the 34-year-old's defence.

"Quite easy to sit on the sofa and be critical of a players form," he tweeted. "There’s so much abuse players face, especially online. Yet those abusing have no idea, nor care, for what potentially a person is going through - whether that be physically or mentally. Hope Shuai is alright."

Meanwhile, others have been fast to rally behind her as properly. One fan (@MariaMihV) wrote: "Awwww….. Shuai @zhangshuai121 you are such a wonderful person and athlete with great sportsmanship. I’m sorry to hear of your sadness."

Another (@kvittycat53) added: "So sad, she is such a likeable player and so nice with her hugs. Hope someone is looking out for her well-being @WTA."