JODIE BURRAGE admits that painful Lions rejection for rugby boyfriend Ben White ruined her clay-court preparations.
The world No.169 went through an emotional wringer as she waited to find out if Toulon ace White would be part of Andy Farrell’s 38-man squad for the trip to Australia.
Scrum-half White, 26, missed out – the travelling contingent was announced on May 8 at an glitzy presentation at the O2 Arena – but is likely to go on Scotland’s summer tour against the Maori All Blacks, Fiji and Samoa.
In the build-up to that decision, as the best rugby stars from Britain and Ireland waited to discover their fate, Burrage’s form on clay nosedived on court – she lost three out of four matches, the last one in straight sets to world No.201 Mai Hontama.
Burrage – who makes her French Open main debut next week – said: “It has been tough for him, the last few weeks, with certain decisions. But he’s doing the best he can.
“Is he on standby for the Lions? They don’t hear. They don’t get told anything. It was a horrible day.
“It’s madness how they don’t hear anything. I didn’t realise how it would be. Sat there watching (on TV) wasn’t the nicest experience.
“He has done the best he can. He has responded to it better than I probably would.
“You would hopefully imagine that he’d be next if anything was to happen.
“I want the best for him. That’s the ultimate dream for any 15s rugby player. We’ll see.
“It’s not his last opportunity to get into that team either. He’ll keep working hard. He’ll get there at some point.
“The ‘not knowing’ was probably the worst. Now the decision has been made and he’s got his goals and he can move on from that, he’s been a lot better. We’ll be fine from now – no more distractions!
“To be fair this was probably the only time anything’s ever distracted me (on court). Professional sport is so emotional, up-and-down, and when you put two together, it’s carnage.
“You’ve got to take the highs with the lows so he’ll be fine. We’re doing fine!”
Burrage – who faces American Danielle Collins in round one – was comforted by White when she got cruelly injured in her last practice session before heading to the 2024 Roland Garros tournament.
Scans showed Burrage, 25, suffered a “near full rupture” of one of her ankle ligaments after attempting to retrieve a Katie Boulter drop-shot.
The Surrey star — who has slumped to British No.7 spot due to her injury layoff — said: “I’m happy to be here. Didn’t make it last year.
“I got a reminder on my phone that this time last year was when I did my ankle in prep for the French. My flight was the next day or two days later when it happened.
“I didn’t have an amazing practice day here on Friday.
“So, I needed that reminder that I was sat on my couch with my foot in a boot and on crutches. I don’t take where I am for granted.
“But I practised with Emma Raducanu and she hit a drop-shot, exactly the same thing, and I didn’t run for that. I didn’t want to take that risk again!
“Happy to step on the court now. Hopefully I can do some damage.”
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