NEW YORK – US open opponents Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got caught up in face-to-face discussions on a sideline at Court 11 shortly after Townsend won the second round match 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday.
Townsend, an American who ranks number one in doubles, said Latvian Ostapenko, who won the 2017 French Open, told her “no class” and “no education.”
Reporters asked Black Townsend if they thought those comments had a racist undertone.
“I didn’t do that, but it was a stigma of our community, all of us, “uneducated” and when it was the farthest from the truth,” Townsend said.
“So, whether it had a racial undertone or not, that’s something she can talk about. The only thing I’m worried about right now is that we’re continuing to move forward with this tournament.”
Ostapenko later posted on social media about “the number of messages I received is racist.”
“I’ve never been a racist in my life and I respect everybody in the world. For me, it doesn’t matter where I came from,” she writes.
Two players met online for a postmatch handshake and stayed close to each other, rather than going their separate ways, as normally happens. Ostapenko, seeded at 25th, waved her finger at Townsend as they were talking.
“It’s a competition,” Townsend said. “When people lose, people get upset.”
When they finally stopped talking, Townsend went to the stands, laying eggs in the partisan crowd, and shook his head in his head as the noise from the audience grew louder.
She and Ostapenko have previously faced each other, both single and double.
“There was no history. I don’t know how she feels about me, but there’s no beef on my side,” Townsend said. “She has no education or class for me. To see what happens when we play with each other outside of the US, ‘I’m excited. Bring it back down from something like that.’ ”
Ostapenko went to social media and posted what she called “a small update on the match.”
She wrote that Townsend was “disrespectful” to not say “sorry” after being helped by the netcode during the point.
“There are some rules in tennis that most players follow, and this was the first time this happened to me on the tour,” Ostapenko posted. “If she plays in her hometown, that doesn’t mean she can do anything she wants.”
Ostapenko also complained that rather than returning to baseline, Townsend began warming up before the net match. Most players start at baseline, but Townsend pointed out that she has started volleying for years.
Ostapenko became Kerfuffles against the enemy during his previous match, including in 2021 when he lost to Wimbledon’s Ajla Tomljanovic in 2021. Tomljanovic accused Ostapenko of lying that she needed to leave the court due to a medical timeout to deal with her abdominal issues.
Townsend has recently moved to the top of the WTA doubles rankings. However, this is the first time she has reached the third round in singles in the first Grand Slam tournament since 2023.
Townsend is number 139 in singles. She is the lowest American woman to beat past Grand Slam champions in singles in the majors since Christian was defeated. -Ostapenko from US Open.
“What I’m most proud of is that I let my racket talk. Ultimately, I’m here so I can sit in front of you guys, move on to the next round, get the next check, move on, stay ahead, still here and talk to you guys. “She’s stuffed and she’s gone.”
