Cornet hits out at "idiots" in crowd after injury forces her out of French Open

France's top female player Alizé Cornet lashed out on Satuday at the idiot fans who booed her after a thigh injury forced her to quit her third round match on centre court against Qinwen Zheng.

Cornet, 32, arrived with both thighs heavily strapped for the match against the Chinese teenage who had beaten the 2018 champion Simona Halep in the second round.

She swept through the first set 6-0 in 30 minutes and was 3-0 up in the second when Cornet approached her to concede the tie.

As the umpire announced the result, sections of the stands jeered.

Cornet, who was trying to reach the last 16 for the third time, said she was amazed at the behaviour.

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"I had to abandon the match because I was in pain. But sometimes the French audience surprises me and not always in the right way," she said.

"Most of the people are no doubt sad for me and understand what's happening but this handful of idiots really makes you feel bad."

Cornet revealed she suffered the adductor strain towards the end of her three-set victory over the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko on Thursday night.

She said a sonogram taken on Friday night highlighted the extent of the injury.

"It was my decision whether I played today or not," Cornet added. "But you know me, I would never have backed out or abandoned a game in a Grand Slam. So it wasn't possible for me to not try to give it my all today."

Zheng will take on top seed Iga Swiatek on Monday for a place in the last eight.

"The boos hurt more than the injury itself," Cornet added. "It was just a handful of people in the stadium so maybe they made a lot of noise. But it's really too much when you see everything I've been giving on the court for so many years."