On Wednesday, Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend‘s second-round match at the US Open ended with a heated exchange.
Late in the match, Townsend clipped the net cord on a shot, causing it to drop short on Ostapenko’s side. While the former world No. 5 managed to return the ball, Townsend then fired back a winner that secured her the point.
The American then opted not to issue the standard apology for clipping the net cord, striking a nerve with Ostapenko.
On the heels of their tense post-match exchange, where Ostapenko allegedly told Townsend she was uneducated, and had no class, the 2017 French Open winner denied being racist in a post on her Instagram story:
“Wow how many messages I received that l am a racist. I was NEVER racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world, for me it doesn’t matter where you come from.
There are some rules in tennis and unfortunately when the crowd is with you
you can’t use it in disrespectful way to your opponent.
“Unfortunately for me coming from such a small country I don’t have that huge support and a chance to play in homeland. I always loved to play in the US and US OPEN, but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way.”
While the story post has expired, The Tennis Letter has the screenshot.
https://twitter.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1960903827793829976/photo/1
Taylor Townsend Weighs in on Whether Tense Post-Match Exchange Had Anything to Do With Race
After dishing on the post-match exchange with Jelena Ostapenko during her on-court interview, Townsend then spoke with members of the press about the situation shortly after.
With social media users alleging that Ostapenko’s comments had racial undertones, Townsend explained that she wasn’t going to weigh-in on whether race played a factor:
“I can’t speak on what her intentions were. I can only speak on how I handled the situation, and how I handled it is someone who’s upset about the outcome that occurred. You lost and you’re upset about that. Saying that I have no education and no class, I don’t really take that personally because I know that it’s so far from the truth and so far from anything.
“I’m very strong. I’m very proud as a black woman to be out here representing myself and representing us in our culture, and I make sure that I do everything that I can to be the best representation possible every time that I step on the court and even off the court, “So, I can’t speak on how she felt about it. That’s something that you’re going to have to ask her. I didn’t take it in that way.”
You can see her comments in the video below beginning at the 13:30 mark.
Taylor Townsend Set For High-Stakes Clash With Mirra Andreeva
After defeating Jelena Ostapenko, Townsend will now face off with No. 5-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the third round.
Andreeva, who has yet to drop a set this tournament, much like Townsend, notably holds a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head after a big win in Madrid last season.
While Townsend was able to take the first set 6-4, Andreeva was able to bounce back, dominating the second set 6-1, before then edging out a hard-fought third set.
With both players in form, and the stakes at an all-time high, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.
Jelena Ostapenko Denies Being Racist After Taylor Townsend Incident