{"id":104222,"date":"2025-08-31T02:54:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T02:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/104222\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T02:54:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T02:54:07","slug":"jelena-ostapenko-apologizes-for-words-used-toward-taylor-townsend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/104222\/","title":{"rendered":"Jelena Ostapenko apologizes for words used toward Taylor Townsend"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK — Jelena Ostapenko<\/a> apologized on social media Saturday, three days after telling American Taylor Townsend<\/a> that she had “no class” and “no education”<\/a> following their second-round match at the US Open.<\/p>\n

Townsend, who is Black, and Ostapenko, who is from Latvia, had an intense back-and-forth after Townsend won in straight sets Wednesday. After their match, Townsend said Ostapenko berated her for not apologizing for a net cord and then used insulting language and questioned Townsend’s intellect and character.<\/p>\n

Ostapenko’s words sparked accusations of racism, with Coco Gauff<\/a> and Naomi Osaka<\/a> among those who publicly defended Townsend<\/a>. Osaka called what Townsend reported Ostapenko saying “one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport.”<\/p>\n

Ostapenko wrote on her Instagram story<\/a> Saturday, “I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match. 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.<\/p>\n

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“I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and a tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”<\/p>\n

Townsend said she was unaware of the apology when she began her news conference after her doubles victory Saturday. She smiled while listening to a reporter read Ostapenko’s post aloud.<\/p>\n

“That’s nice that she did that, that she apologized. I mean, that’s fine. That’s cool,” Townsend said, adding she has not personally heard from Ostapenko. “At the end of the day, I think that it’s a learning lesson for her. Again, like I said when everything first happened, you cannot push your expectations on other people. That’s ultimately what happened.”<\/p>\n

Townsend added: “I really hope from this she can take that, hey, you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.”<\/p>\n

Townsend was asked Wednesday whether she thought there were racial undertones to Ostapenko’s comments and said she “didn’t take it that way,” but acknowledged, “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.”<\/p>\n

Townsend, who upset No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva<\/a> on Friday night to reach the US Open round of 16<\/a> for the first time since 2019, said she received countless messages of support<\/a> from friends and players and would continue to stand up for her values.<\/p>\n

Townsend will play in the fourth round of singles Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report. <\/p>\n