The US Open witnessed a high-tension episode after the second-round women’s match in which Taylor Townsend (ranked 139th in the WTA rankings) defeated Jelena Ostapenko (26th in the rankings) 7-5, 6-1. When the two went to shake hands after the match, there was a heated argument.
It was Ostapenko who lashed out at Townsend and accused her of being uneducated and classless, apparently because she had not apologised for a ball that hit the net. When the American approached for the protocol greeting, she received the reprimand from her rival. Townsend responded to all this by saying: “You have to learn to accept defeat better”.
It was a heated confrontation after what was the third professional meeting between the two players. Afterwards, Townsend greeted the chair umpire and then went to the crowd and cupped her hand to her ear to ask for their support. There were some boos against Ostapenko.
He told me that I have no class, that I have no education and that we’ll see what happens when we leave the United States
In a post-match interview, Townsend claimed that Ostapenko had insulted her: “We’re competing and people get upset when they lose. There are people who say bad things. She told me that I have no class, that I have no education and that we’ll see what happens when we leave the United States. I’m really looking forward to it. I beat her in Canada, outside the United States. I beat her in New York. Let’s see what she has to say. Racism? I don’t know what her intentions were. To say that I’m uneducated and classless, I don’t really take it personally because I know it’s far from the truth.”
There are some rules in tennis and unfortunately, when the crowd is with you, you can’t use them disrespectfully towards your opponent
Some viewers, especially through social media, interpreted Ostapenko’s comments as racist, something she quickly denied on her social media accounts, while claiming that her opponent had disrespected her. “I have never been racist in my life and I respect all nations of 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 them disrespectfully towards your opponent. Unfortunately for me, coming from such a small country, I don’t have that great support or the opportunity to play in my homeland. I have always enjoyed playing at the US Open, but this is the first time someone has approached the match so disrespectfully.”
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