In many ways, the US Open has been the through-line for Townsend\u2019s meandering story arc. Her junior doubles title here in 2012 \u2013 on the heels of a doubles title at Wimbledon and doubles and singles titles at the Australian Open \u2013 stamped her as a star on the rise, the crafty leftie charging down the hard trail blazed by the Williams sisters. Also during that US Open, Townsend became a national story when her mother revealed that the USTA had pulled funding for her trip and that the family had passed the plate around to get her to New York.<\/p>\n
Taylor Townsend reacts during the US Open women\u2019s doubles final on Friday. Photograph: Brad Penner\/USTA\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t in 100% health, and I said, I\u2019m going to come, and I\u2019m going to do what I can,\u201d she recalled in press afterward. \u201cTo be able to come here and win as an adult, you know, and be able to play on Arthur Ashe and to hold this trophy, it\u2019s something that\u2019s so special to me, because I don\u2019t forget the things that I\u2019ve gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Townsend\u2019s pro career struggled to meet expectations, her physique became the default target for criticism; Pat McEnroe, then USTA\u2019s player development chief and still a prominent narrator at this tournament, set the tone by effectively pronouncing Townsend physically unfit for federation support. The knock-on effects of that decision were undeniable: Townsend sank from 94th in the world singles rankings to 304th and hustled to remain on tour in the absence of sponsorship support, essentially playing tournaments for gas money. At the 2016 US Open, Townsend scrapped to qualify for the main draw \u2013 only to wind up losing her first-round match to fallen former world no1 Caroline Wozniacki.<\/p>\n
The story could have ended there. But Townsend persevered, cracking the top 100 again in 2017 before reemerging in the US Open spotlight. In 2019, she gritted her way through qualifying again and stormed to the fourth round of the main draw, scoring her first top-10 victory against Simona Halep before losing to eventual winner Bianca Andreescu and ending the year a career-high 73rd in the rankings. When it appeared as if becoming a mom in 2021 might slow her down, she used it as motivation to get into the best shape of her life.<\/p>\n
It all snapped into focus. In 2024, Townsend stopped the presses with a maiden doubles slam victory at Wimbledon, then kicked off the next year by winning doubles at the Australian Open. But it was the US Open that served as the main stage for Townsend\u2019s breakout again as she made another fairy tale run to the fourth round in singles and battered the nostalgia act of Venus Williams and Leyla Fernandez<\/a> en route to the doubles finals \u2013 where she and Siniakov\u00e1 lost in straight sets.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to The Recap<\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Taylor Townsend celebrates Friday\u2019s victory with a Honey Deuce. Photograph: Kristina Bumphrey\/Variety\/Getty Images<\/p>\n They eventually bounced back, with Townsend helping the team to a noteworthy, for an American, championship on the terre battue of Roland Garros in June before making a triumphant return to New York as the people\u2019s champ. She rallied the crowd behind her tassely outfits and indefatigable exuberance for another fourth-round singles run (losing to top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka this time) before completing her doubles revenge tour with Siniakov\u00e1 \u2013 a partnership that began with an Instagram direct message. (\u201cI always say it: Guys, don\u2019t be afraid to slide in the DMs,\u201d Townsend joked.) On a sun-splashed Friday afternoon at Ashe, Montgomery and Krueger put a brief scare into Townsend and Siniakov\u00e1, breaking for the first set. But the top-ranked doubles team quickly shook that off; in the second set shutout, they\u2019d concede just two points on serve before cruising to the finish.<\/p>\n Basking in the afterglow of victory, Townsend resurfaced in the interview room at Ashe with another tassley outfit on and a gold grill in her mouth while double-fisting a pair of Honey Deuces \u2013 one more than she brought to the table last year<\/a>. It was a hard-earned moment to gloat for a player who had been written off from the start. And she didn\u2019t let the moment pass without acknowledging just what an achievement it was to reach this career peak as so many of her Black American contemporaries were making deep tournament runs. As on court, she made a point of uplifting Montgomery, a doubles wildcard entrant who qualified for the singles main draw.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so proud to be able to click on the TV and watch Frances [Tiafoe] and Ben [Shelton],\u201d she said. \u201cOne of them is going to be able to be in a Grand Slam final, and that\u2019s a beautiful thing. You know, Robin, myself, you know, it\u2019s been Coco [Gauff], it\u2019s been a phenomenal US Open for people of color, and just being able to show people, like, it\u2019s possible, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789193772_406_1235.jpg\")
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