Tensions were high during the U.S. Open last week after American Taylor Townsend took on a higher-ranked Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
During the second round, Townsend pulled off an unexpected victory (7-5, 6-1). However, Ostapenko had a sore-loser moment as they shook hands at the net and could be seen having a heated conversation.
Afterward, Townsend revealed that Ostapenko told her she has “no class” and “no education.”
26th-ranked Ostapenko seemed unaware of the racial component of those disses and was quickly labeled a racist online. She initially responded with a statement dismissing that notion and saying she was upset because Townsend hadn’t apologized for hitting a netball, which is a common courtesy in tennis.
But over the weekend, Ostapenko returned to Instagram with another statement, explaining that she understands why her comments could be taken out of context.
“I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match,” Ostapenko wrote on her Instagram stories. “English is not my native language, so when I said education, I was speaking only about what I believe as tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.”
Townsend was caught off guard Saturday when the media informed her about Ostapenko’s statement for the first time, but was clearly more focused on advancing in the U.S. Open, not someone who had already beaten her.
“No, I didn’t know that. The fact of the matter is, like I said the other day, I’m still playing, so I don’t have time to be tapped in on what she’s got going on and what she says,” Townsend replied to a question from The Post after Saturday’s doubles win. “I had a job to do today. Got it done in the doubles.
“I have a goal while I’m here. I said it [Friday], just keeping the main thing the main thing, which is I’m here to continue to grow as a player and play my best tennis and put that on display. Anything that gets in the way of that has got to go. So I haven’t seen anything. I didn’t know what she said. But I’m still here, so I’m glad that she has the time to be able to do that.”
Townsend has shown she’s got blinders on during the Open, and just advanced to the next round after defeating Andreeva (7-5, 6-2).
The tennis world has also stepped in, with Naomi Osaka calling Ostapenko’s comments “One of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player.”
Venus Williams also saluted Townsend’s ability to win despite the drama surrounding the situation.
“And I thought Taylor handled it amazing. I really did. I just thought with her as a mom, how she handled it, her son would be watching, her son is watching. She handled it with class, a situation that was not so classy. And just moved on and won again.”
See social media’s reaction to the ongoing tennis below.
