Taylor Townsend, the No. 1 women’s doubles player in the world, might lose some of her fans due to comments made on social media.
With the WTA Asian swing officially here, Townsend is in China to build off her successful run at the US Open. Not only did she reach the final for doubles, she made it to the Round of 16 in the main draw for singles. She knocked off a pair of seeded opponents in Jelena Ostapenko and Mirra Andreeva.
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After Townsend defeated Ostapenko in the second round, they had a heated exchange at the net. Townsend told ESPN that Ostapenko accused her of having “no class” and “no education.” Eventually, Ostapenko issued an apology for her remarks.
“I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match,” Ostapenko said. “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.”
Aug 29, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Taylor Townsend (USA) celebrates after her match against Mirra Andreeva (not pictured) on day six of the 2025 US Open tennis tournament at Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Roughly three weeks later, Townsend is once again being accused of having no class. That’s because she criticized the food in China.
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“I’m honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet,” Townsend said in a video. “As I go back and I look… these people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff? And the fact that it’s all stewed up with chillies, peppers, and onions. Like oh, you really made this a dish. All in all I’d give this like a solid 2 out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.”
Tennis fans aren’t happy with Townsend.
Immediately after Townsend posted these videos on her Instagram Story, tennis fans ripped her for being so critical of Chinese culture.
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“This is blatant racism and she’ll cry if she’s in the receiving end,” one fan said.
“Taylor needs to apologize to the Chinese people for her act of racial discrimination,” a second fan wrote.
“When in Rome….. Please respect the culture of where you are visiting,” a third fan commented.
“Penko was right. She truly lacks education and class,” another fan declared.
Fans believe Townsend’s video goes against something she said at the US Open about representation.
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“It’s about the message, it’s about the representation. It’s about being bold and being able to show up as yourself,” the American tennis star said after an upset win at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Townsend hasn’t addressed any of the criticism she’s receiving on social media. Perhaps that’ll change in the coming days.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 16, 2025, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.