Latvian star Jelena Ostapenko has denied racism allegations following her fiery row with Taylor Townsend.
She told her American rival that she had ‘no class’ and ‘no education’, prompting some individuals to raise questions about the undertones of her message.
But Ostapenko has since hit back at the allegations in a post on her Instagram story, which read: “Wow how many messages I received that I am 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.”