After the second round match in the US Open yesterday between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko it was clear things were a little tense.
According to VIBE Townsend won the match 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday. (Aug. 27) which prompted insults from her opponent. While Townsend is ranked No. 1 in doubles, her Latvian competitor won the Open in 2017.
The verbal altercation occurred as Townsend approached Ostapenko to shake hands after their match was complete.
Ostapenako demanded an apology from Taylor before she repeated “you have no education” three times.
Townsend responded with, “learn how to take a loss better,” per The Athletic.
According to USA Today, Ostapenako shared on Instagram stories that she believed she was owed an apology due to “a net ball.”
The outlet noted that while players often apologize if they win on a net ball, it is not mandatory.
“After the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry, but her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all,” Ostapenko wrote. “There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was first time ever that this happened to me on tour. If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”
She also explained, “I was NEVER racist in my life,” as her commentary was seemingly steeped in derogatory stereotypes.
“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,” Ostapenko wrote. “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.”
Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got in a heated interaction after their second round match at the US Open.
Townsend is on to the third round. pic.twitter.com/cOIYzoyfmG
— ESPN (@espn) August 27, 2025
After the match, Taylor shared her perspective on the melee and her stance on whether or not her opponent intended to make an outburst with racist intentions.
“I didn’t take it in that way, but also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of being ‘not educated’ and all of the things, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Townsend detailed per CNN. “So whether it had racial undertones or not, that’s something she can speak on,” she added. “The only thing that I’m worried about right now is continuing to move forward through this tournament.”
The Chicago native continued to exclaim:
“The thing that I’m the most proud of is that I let my racket talk. Because ultimately, I’m the one here, sitting in front of you guys, moving on to the next round, getting the next check, moving on, being able to still be here and speak to you guys, and that’s what’s the most important,” continuing, “She’s packed up and she’s gone.”
Up next, Townsend is set to face the No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in the third round of the US Open on Friday.
