REBECCA Kenna suffered a disappointing defeat in her first game as a professional on the World Snooker Tour, and was involved in an ugly Twitter spat with a former player afterwards.

Kenna was beaten 5-1 in European Masters qualifying by Barry Pinches, and ex-pro Munraj Pal was not impressed by what he saw.

He tweeted: "For the life of me do not get how and why Rebecca Kenna is on the main tour?

"Evidently nowhere near good enough to stay on let alone win a match?

"Not her fault the blame lies with World Snooker Tour and their blatant act of virtue signalling."

Kenna hit back: "You’ve asked why I’m on the tour. Open your mind to some possible reasons and answers.

"The women's game needs to grow. This is a huge step towards doing that.

"Yes I may not be ready yet. But thanks to this exposure and opportunity a young girl in the future will be."