Ekaterina Alexandrova said the "rules were against" her after she lost to Irina-Camelia Begu at the French Open, where her Romanian opponent accidentally hit a child in the crowd with her racket.

The incident occurred in the third set of the second round match on Thursday, with Begu slamming her racket in frustration after a lost point, inadvertently bouncing it off the court's surface and into the crowd, where it struck the youngster.

Begu has since apologised, calling it "embarrassing".

There was a short break in play as officials and supervisors checked on the crying child, before ultimately deciding to give Begu a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Once play resumed, Begu immediately broke Alexandrova's serve, and won six of the next eight games to seal a 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4 victory.

In an Instagram post after her loss, Alexandrova expressed her disappointment, suggesting the rules had been against her.

"So disappointed to leave [Roland Garros] like that, I was trying to do my best, but seems like the rules were against me today," she wrote. "This shouldn't be happening. 

"I hope after today's match rules will be improved for everyone's safety. We are responsible for our racket."

Speaking to the media after her win, Begu was apologetic for her actions.

"Well, it's an embarrassing moment for me. I just want to apologise," she said. "My whole career I didn't do something like this, and I feel really bad and sorry. 

"So I'm just going to say again, sorry for the incident and, yeah, it was just an embarrassing moment for me.

She added: "It was a difficult moment because I didn't want to hit that racket, you know. 

"You hit the clay with the racket, but you never expect [it] to fly that much. 

"It was, as I said, embarrassing moment for me, and I just want to end it and not talk about it."

Former world number one Simona Halep says she suffered a panic attack during her second round match with Zheng Qinwen, contributing to her early French Open exit.

The 2018 Roland Garros champion became the latest big name to make a shock departure from Paris inside the first week after blowing a first set lead to lose 2-6 6-2 6-1.

It marked a major scalp for the unseeded Zhang, who previously lost to Halep in January, and was arguably the biggest win of the Chinese teenager's career at her competition debut.

But Halep, who looked to be in cruise control early on, revealed she suffered an unexpected setback that threw her rhythm in her post-match comments, though she has now recovered.

"I was playing well at the start," she stated. "I had a break in the second set, but then something happened. I just lost it.

"It was just a panic attack. I didn't know how to handle it, because I don't have [them] often. I don't really know why it happened, because I was leading the match. I was playing well

"After the match, [it] was pretty tough.  But now I'm good. I'm recovered, and I will learn from this episode. It's good that now I can smile."

On her overall time at Roland Garros, Halep admitted she was happy to come through it unscathed, adding: "Tomorrow is a new day. 

"I know it's like a cliche, but it's a new day, and I'll wake up motivated to keep working. [I've] no injury, which is really good. Now I'm in a good place."

Only the understandable media attention is allowing Iga Swiatek to keep count of her incredible winning run that reached 30 matches on Thursday.

The world number one sealed her place in the third round of the French Open after a dominant 6-0 6-2 win against Alison Riske.

That victory made her just the fourth WTA Tour player this century to win 30 or more consecutive matches. She has also taken 46 of the past 47 sets she has played.

Speaking at a news conference following her milestone win, Swiatek insisted she does not follow the numbers – although she has no need to while her streak remains the focus of journalists.

"I know how many matches I have won in a row because you keep reminding me, basically," she said. "But I don't keep track.

"I'm not like noting or something. I just try to come back to these matches to get experience from them. But that's the only reason why I come back to them."

Swiatek was asked to explain what had inspired her imperious form, with her 39 match victories in 2022 already three more than she managed in the whole of 2021.

"I think basically I changed some things, like I started being more aggressive and trying to be more proactive on court," she replied. "That's something that my coach really helped me to do.

"But also, I think all the work we have been doing, even last season, it finally clicked somehow.

"You know, last season it was a year for me where I really gained so much experience. This year I feel like I'm using it the right way. I have this experience already, and I can just move forward.

"So I think it's the physical work I have been doing but also with my psychologist, I think it's the work of the whole team as well. I'm pretty glad that it clicks right now."

The 20-year-old conceded her form will not last forever, but she is determined to enjoy it while it lasts.

"I was saying from the beginning that for sure I'm going to reach a point where I'm going to lose a match, and it's pretty normal, you know," Swiatek said. "I have been losing matches in tennis for a long time.

"For sure, the things we are doing right now are pretty extraordinary, but I know in tennis that only one person wins at the end. I will be okay with that.

"For sure, it's not fun to lose, but I think it wouldn't be different than any other loss that I had in my career."

Former world number one Simona Halep is out of the French Open after crumbling from a one-set lead against Zheng Qinwen in the second round on Thursday.

The 2018 Roland Garros champion, the most experienced player in the draw at this year's competition, fell to a 2-6 6-2 6-1 loss against her unseeded opponent.

Halep, who is now coached by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, is the latest big name to suffer an early exit on clay this year.

The 30-year-old, who fought off a comeback from lucky loser Nastasja Schunk on Tuesday, looked to be cruising after the first set.

But Halep failed to navigate a fiery response from Zheng, who blazed through the second set to tie things up before an impressive rout in the third in her first appearance in Paris.

It marks revenge for the teenager as well, having fallen to Halep at the semi-final stage of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 earlier this year.

It continues a mixed 2022 for the Romanian so far, whose best finishes were victory in Victoria, followed by reaching the final four at the Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells Masters.

Zheng will now face either 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko or France's Alize Cornet in the third round, with the pair set to play later on Thursday.

Iga Swiatek again showed relentless form to ease past Alison Riske and book her place in the third round of the French Open on Thursday.

The number one seed stormed to a 6-0 6-2 victory on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, and will now face Danka Kovinic – the latest woman to attempt to halt the WTA Tour's winning machine.

Chasing her 30th straight win, there was an ominous start from Swiatek, who sealed the first set in just 20 minutes as Riske won just seven points.

Swiatek was ruthless as she sped through the games, winning all three break points against Riske to get halfway to victory in double quick time.

The American tried to fight back at the start of the second, but Swiatek seemed to move up a gear every time her opponent was able to win a point, breaking again in the second game.

Riske reached deuce in the next game, before finally holding serve to get herself on the board to a big cheer from the crowd.

The world number 43 showed more fight as she held serve again, but Swiatek's power and shot placement was ultimately too much as she motored to victory.

The 2020 champion has now won 39 matches this year (including Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers), three more than her tally for the entire 2021 season.

Data Slam: Dominant Swiatek

Swiatek's win here makes her just the fourth player this century to win 30 or more consecutive matches. She also won 85 per cent of points on her first serve (22 of 26) and did not face any break points.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 23/15
Riske – 6/14

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 1/1
Riske – 2/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 5/9
Riske – 0/0

Leolia Jeanjean became the lowest-ranked woman to beat a top-10 player at the French Open since 1988 as the world number 227 stunned Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.

French player Jeanjean was a promising youngster whose career looked to have been scuppered by knee trouble, but at the age of 26 she is making her grand slam debut in Paris and is through to the third round.

On Court Simonne-Mathieu, she crushed last year's Wimbledon runner-up Pliskova 6-2 6-2, surprising herself with the way she brushed off the eighth-seeded Czech.

It made Jeanjean the lowest-ranked woman to beat a top-10 opponent at Roland Garros since a 16-year-old Conchita Martinez upset ninth seed Lori McNeil at the 1988 tournament.

The then little-known Martinez would go on to win Wimbledon in 1994 and reach number two in the world.

As a teenager, Jeanjean reached 676th in the world in 2013, but she had slumped to 1,180th by November 2020. A once-promising career looked set to end with Jeanjean sliding into obscurity, but she thrilled the Roland Garros crowds with her dismantling of Pliskova.

Mixing her studies in finance with college tennis at Lynn University and the University of Arkansas has helped Jeanjean climb inside the top 250 on the WTA Tour, and her big-stage breakthrough has finally arrived in her homeland.

"I'm very, very happy," she said. "What's happening right now is something I never imagined before. When I stopped playing for four to five years I never imagined I'd be in the third round of a grand slam.

"The fact I never gave up and always believed in myself is probably why I'm here today. Now I'm 26, and it's my first grand slam. I thought I would have lost in the first round in two sets and I find myself beating a top-10 player.

"I don't know how it's possible that it's happening."

It was after Jeanjean sustained her knee injury that she chose to go down the US college route with her career, knowing many tennis stars have come through the system.

"I wanted to give myself another chance," she said.

Pliskova lost on clay to a player from outside the WTA top 200 for the first time since going down to Arina Rodionova in qualifiers for a tournament in Fes, Morocco, more than 10 years ago. Irina-Camelia Begu awaits Jeanjean in the third round.

Pliskova's exit was the latest in a string of shocks which have meant that for the first time at Roland Garros, six or more of the top 10 seeds have been eliminated in the first two rounds. She joined Barbora Krejcikova, Maria Sakkari, Anett Kontaveit, Ons Jabeur and Garbine Muguruza on that list of casualties.

The 30-year-old Pliskova said Jeanjean's variety made her an awkward opponent, and suggested the courts played slowly.

"I think this court is a bit too brutal,," Pliskova said during a news conference. "My serve was not working. I don't have a horrible feeling but, of course, like you lose, so of course I'm not happy about it, but I just want to give credit to her, I think she played a great match."

Angelique Kerber clinched a career first at the French Open on Wednesday, winning her seventh match in a row on European clay.

Kerber, who has won three grand slam titles, headed to Roland Garros in form on the back of a victory at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

The 34-year-old, whose last major title came at Wimbledon in 2018, is in the hunt for her first French Open title, which would complete the career Grand Slam.

While that may seem unlikely for the world number 17, she took a step closer on Wednesday by defeating Elsa Jacquemot 6-1 7-6 (7-2).

That sent Kerber into the third round at Roland Garros for the first time since 2018 and also saw her win seven successive matches on clay courts in Europe for the first time in her long career.

"When you've achieved everything, you just play for the love for the game," Kerber explained after her win.

"I love to play tennis, love to play here in front of you guys, love to play for the atmosphere and working really hard to play here, have the energy from the fans.

"I still love it, let's see how long I can stay here and play good at a high level."

Emma Raducanu has completed her "pretty positive" first year on the WTA Tour after exiting the French Open in defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Wednesday.

Raducanu made her WTA Tour main-draw debut last June as a wildcard at the Nottingham Open, which directly follows Roland Garros.

The Briton's stunning ascent could scarcely have been imagined at that stage, as she went on to enjoy remarkable, record-breaking success in winning the US Open later in 2021.

Subsequent progress has not been quite so smooth, and Raducanu's latest grand slam campaign ended in the second round against Sasnovich in Paris.

The 19-year-old appeared to be in command after taking the opener but collapsed to lose 3-6 6-1 6-1.

Yet speaking after the match, Raducanu reminded reporters her senior career is merely 12 months old, meaning she is still happy to focus on the positives rather than rue another upset defeat – the world number 12 ousted by an unseeded opponent.

"We were saying with my team this morning: it's pretty much a year anniversary since my comeback to competitive tennis," she said. "I was playing a Brit tour in Connaught [in May 2021].

"I think I have come a long way since then. I think I do really welcome going around the second time. I think this year was always going to be challenging for me to adjust, find my feet.

"There's always something new. Like I'm always asking where everything is. I have no idea where everything is. It's going to be a lot more familiar this time around.

"I feel like in the last 12 months, I have definitely grown a lot. On and off the court, I feel like I have probably improved, like how much I fight.

"I think that's one of my biggest strengths and even more so on the tour this year, and it's definitely opened my eyes to just how good everyone is and how much depth there is in the game.

"But I think that it has been a pretty positive year just because I have learnt so much, and I think that the amount of learning that I have kind of done outweighs any sort of result, to be honest."

That "learning" was the theme of Raducanu's post-tournament assessment, explaining she is now "taking it better" when she is beaten and will "just look at everything as a lesson".

She said: "I know exactly where I went wrong, where I can improve, where other people are better than me.

"To be honest, I am learning every single day, every single match, every practice.

"I would say that I'm at this level, but there are definitely aspects of my game that need to improve and catch up to where my current ranking is."

Former world number one Simona Halep says she will put "as much pressure as possible" on herself as she seeks French Open glory.

The 2018 Roland Garros champion came through her first-round clash against 18-year-old lucky loser Nastasja Schunk 6-4 1-6 6-1 on Tuesday.

Number 19 seed Halep, who is now coached by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, has played 42 main-draw matches at the French Open – more than any other player in this year's competition.

Asked if that experience brings with it more pressure, Halep told a media conference: "Well, hopefully I put as much pressure as possible on myself because I love pressure. It's good to have it and it keeps you focused.

"Everyone is playing well, so it's a big challenge every match. We are at Grand Slam, so it's always tough. But I'm here to face these challenges, and I'm here to give my best.

"So, I will focus on myself. I will try to do what I have to do, and that's it. Then we will see.

"I will think about the next round only, and then if I will win it, I will think about the next one.

"I don't want to look further than that. It's important to just stay focused and to play the next match."

Halep will face Zheng Qinwen in the second round after the Chinese player overcame Maryna Zanevska 6-3 6-1 on Monday. 

Denis Shapovalov has attacked Wimbledon and the ATP for the decisions that have led to fears of players skipping the grass-court grand slam.

Canadian left-hander Shapovalov enjoyed a run to the semi-finals at the All England Club last year, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic, but he will lose all his points and be unable to defend them at the 2022 tournament.

The season's third major will not have any ranking points after the ATP and WTA, which run the men's and women's tours, respectively, effectively decided to punish the grand slam's organisers for banning Russian and Belarusian players.

Naomi Osaka has said she is unsure about playing in London on that basis, as she wants to play events where there are points available following a slide on the WTA list, and there are concerns others may also give it a miss. A number of players have voiced concern that prize money could be slashed too.

Shapovalov, who addressed the matter after a shock first-round loss to Denmark's Holger Rune at the French Open on Tuesday, said he did not agree with the banning of players or the subsequent points decision.

"I completely understand the politics and the situation they're in. But if you have a tennis tournament that's supposed to have the best athletes in the world, it shouldn't matter where you're from," Shapovalov said.

"I also don't agree with the ATP to take out all the points. The most guys it's affecting are the guys in the top rankings."

Referring to last year's semi-finalists in the men's singles, Shapovalov, who beat Andy Murray on the way to the last four, said: "Obviously Novak [Djokovic], me, Hubi [Hubert Hurkacz], [Matteo] Berrettini, who is not playing here, we're going to drop a lot.

"I think they could have gone with it a different way, maybe keep 50 per cent like they have in the past or some kind of fairness."

Karolina Pliskova lost to Ash Barty in the women's final at Wimbledon last year, and the Czech described the WTA's move to strip points from Wimbledon as a "super tough and unfair and bad decision".

She will play Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, because she feels it is a tournament she can win, and at the age of 30 she is determined to take every opportunity going to land a maiden grand slam. She could become champion this year but, because last year's Wimbledon ranking points will fall off, plunge down the rankings at the same time.

Intriguingly, Pliskova said leading WTA stars could not agree what action tour chiefs should take about points.

"We had a group of WhatsApp chat [between] top 10 players and these 10 girls could not agree on the same thing," Pliskova said. "Some girls were for no points, some were for 50 per cent, to keep just 50 per cent from last year, some were for like all the points. So it is what it is."

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017 and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals a year later, suspects there could yet be a twist in the saga to come.

Ostapenko said: "There are of course a lot of rumours and talks, but I think maybe they are going to change their mind. I'm not sure about points. But I think a lot of things may happen within the next week or two weeks.

"That's my personal opinion. Maybe I'm wrong. If there are no points, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

"I feel like it's a little bit unfair to play the tournament when there are no points and you can win the tournament and then you don't move one spot up in the ranking."

Iga Swiatek insists there is no way she will snub Wimbledon due to the lack of rankings points on offer at the grass-court grand slam.

The WTA and ATP last week announced that they had stripped Wimbledon of ranking points after the All England Club decided to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing.

Wimbledon organisers took that stance in the wake of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which was aided by Belarus.

Naomi Osaka gave a strong suggestion after crashing out of the French Open in the first round on Monday that she may not compete at SW19.

World number one Swiatek will not be opting out of playing in the major in London, which starts on June 27.

Pole Swiatek said after thrashing Lesia Tsurenko at Roland Garros: "I have never really had a situation to play without points, and I don't really know how I'm going to react. 

"But I think that when I'm going to step out on court it's going to be normal for me, because I don't mind points. I already have so many points this season that it's really going to be fine for me. I'm okay with playing without points; I'm okay playing with points. 

"But for me it's more the political side of things, because Poland is supporting Ukrainians, and the war is right next to my country, so it's harder on me from that perspective. 

"I don't really mind about points. For me it's Wimbledon, for sure. It's one of the most important tournaments in the season, but there is war going on. I look at it more from that way than what's going to happen on rankings."

Swiatek was reminded that she had played in the Olympics without points at stake and says she would never view Wimbledon as being "like an exhibition", as Osaka earlier stated in Paris.

She added: "Truth be told, I didn't really think how I'm going to feel going to Wimbledon. The decision has been made few days ago, so I was really focused on Roland Garros. 

"But honestly, I think I'm going to be really motivated anyway, because I'm that kind of person who just likes competition. And if I'm going to step out on court, I will want to win.

"I forgot about the Olympics, but you play for medals, so still it's really important. In Wimbledon, you still have that result that is going to be on Wikipedia next to your name.

"I will enjoy the learning experience on the grass, because I still feel like there is a lot of potential I can reach, and I haven't been able to do that in previous years. 

"It's all going to be learning as well. I want to use the time on grass."

Reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova is out of this year's tournament after suffering a first-round defeat to teenage opponent Diane Parry.

The number two seed looked to be cruising on Court Philippe-Chatrier, taking the first set 6-1, before an impressive recovery from Parry saw the 19-year-old take the next two sets 6-2 6-3.

Parry becomes the lowest-ranked woman to beat the second seed at Roland Garros since Arantxa Rus beat Kim Clijsters in 2011.

It looked like Krejcikova was going to follow number one seed Iga Swiatek in easing to a quick win on Monday, winning 15 straight points in the early stages as she ran out to a lead of 6-1 2-0.

However, her determined opponent suddenly found an extra gear and started to trouble the Czech star, actually winning a higher percentage of points on her second serve (67) than her first (64) to win six straight games in the second set.

Krejcikova broke in the first game of the deciding set and looked to have recovered, only for Parry to break back in the fourth game, before breaking again in the eighth, and serving out to claim a famous win.

The French youngster will face Colombian Camila Osorio in the second round.

Naomi Osaka's return to the French Open ended in a round-one defeat as Amanda Anisimova had her opponent's number in a grand slam for the second time in 2022.

A year ago, Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros after a first-round win over Patricia Maria Tig, citing mental health issues amid intense media scrutiny and having been fined for skipping press duties.

Speaking prior to her opening-round match on this occasion, Osaka opened up about fearing a negative reaction from the Paris crowd.

While the fans in attendance greeted her with warmth, Osaka fell 7-5 6-4 to Anisimova in a tough battle on Court Suzanne Lenglen, having also lost to her in round three of the Australian Open back in January.

Having initially looked sluggish and dropped each of her opening two service games, Osaka found some rhythm and Anisimova had to serve to stay in the set.

She did just that, though, and in a monster 11th game Osaka double faulted to cede the advantage, with Anisimova serving out to love.

Another double-fault gift at 3-3 in the second gave Anisimova the break, and she recovered from 0-40 down in the next game to consolidate.

Anisimova's quality was not quite at the same level in the second as the first, but she still served out the match at the first available opportunity to dump out the four-time grand slam champion.

DATA SLAM: Gifts aplenty

Osaka's record on the clay is not particularly great. Heading into this one her record read 21-17, and she complained of an Achilles issue in a recent early exit in Madrid. Here, there were glimpses of her excellent move and racquet striking but eight double faults is far too high against an opponent the calibre of Anisimova. Both players gave up 29 unforced errors, but Anisimova fared way better in the winners tally (27-13).

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Osaka – 13/29
Anisimova – 27/29

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Osaka – 4/8
Anisimova – 5/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Osaka – 2/5
Anisimova – 4/10

Kaia Kanepi kept up her strong record against grand slam seeds as she overcame Garbine Muguruza at the French Open.

Muguruza won at Roland Garros in 2016 and also triumphed at last year's WTA Finals.

However, the world number 10 fell to the unseeded Kanepi in her first-round match on Sunday.

Muguruza, seeded 10th, lost 2-6 6-3 6-4 to the Estonian world number 46, who recorded her 10th career win at a major over a player ranked inside the top 10.

Kanepi, who is the oldest player in the women's main draw, also extended her brilliant record against seeds in grand slam tournaments, having now won 19 such matches.

Among active players, only Serena Williams (29), her sister Venus (22) and French Open 10th seed Victoria Azarenka (21) have more such wins.

She will now play Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.

Ons Jabeur was the first big-name casualty at the French Open as Magda Linette produced a shock on day one.

Jabeur arrived at Roland Garros with the expectation she would be one of the most likely to challenge strong favourite Iga Swiatek, but Linette consigned the sixth seed to a 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat on Sunday.

Battling Tunisian Jabeur won her maiden WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Open this month and had reached the final of three of the four tournaments she has played on clay this season.

The 27-year-old also started the Paris major with a tour-leading 17-3 record on this surface in 2022, but she was unable to get the better of the world number 56.

Linette was broken three times in the first set, but fought back from 3-1 down in a second-set tie-break to take Jabeur the distance.

It appeared a final-set tie-break would be on the cards in the opening match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but Linette had other ideas.

The Pole - who struck 32 winners - decisively broke for a third time when Jabeur was serving to stay in the match to claim her first top-10 scalp of the season, setting up a second-round meeting with Martina Trevisan or Harriet Dart.

A junior French Open champion in 2011, Jabeur must lick her wounds after 47 unforced errors to fall at the first hurdle.