Townsend through at US Open but tennis and Ostapenko in spotlight

Taylor Townsend progresses astatine US Open but absorption remains connected allegations from heated confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko.

Taylor Townsend is successful the spotlight astatine the US Open arsenic a effect of an enactment she wishes had ne'er taken place.

Townsend said Jelena Ostapenko told her she had “no class” and “no education” during a face-to-face argument aft their second-round lucifer connected Wednesday.

A immense assemblage cheered her connected successful doubles connected Thursday, and Townsend made the astir of a spot successful premier clip astatine Arthur Ashe Stadium connected Friday night, upsetting fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2.

Going into this Grand Slam, Townsend had obscurity adjacent the prima powerfulness oregon the sanction designation of chap Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and she is not adjacent seeded successful singles play. Yet the 29-year-old, who is fractional of the top-ranked women’s doubles squad successful the satellite and was No 1 arsenic a inferior player, has go 1 of the biggest stories of the tourney done nary responsibility of her own.

“It’s bigger than me,” she said connected the tribunal aft the match. “It’s astir the message, it’s astir the representation, it’s astir being bold and being capable to amusement up arsenic yourself and I did that tonight. You guys saw the existent Taylor Townsend tonight.”

Townsend hopes the attraction astir the confrontation and her calling attraction to it tin beryllium a affirmative for the US Open and tennis successful general.

“If I’m idiosyncratic who tin gully immense crowds into the stadiums arsenic a sanction that tin bring radical to travel and bargain tickets and enactment the game, past that’s a crown that I’ll gladly wear,” Townsend said. “Whatever that it is, immoderate benignant of attraction that it brought, it’s doing the close things, which is bring radical to spot the athletics and bringing radical successful to enactment and that’s what it’s each about.”

Townsend, who is Black, and Ostapenko, who is from Latvia, had an aggravated back-and-forth aft Townsend won successful consecutive sets. When asked if she thought the comments had radical undertones, Townsend said she didn’t instrumentality it that mode but acknowledged, “That has been a stigma successful our assemblage of being ‘not educated’ and each of the things, erstwhile it’s the furthest happening from the truth.”

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, right, argues with Taylor Townsend of the United States, left, pursuing their Women’s Singles second-round lucifer connected Day Four of the 2025 US Open [File: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images via AFP]

Gauff and Naomi Osaka were among those who publically came to Townsend’s defence. Osaka called what Townsend reported Ostapenko arsenic saying, “one of the worst things you tin accidental to a Black tennis subordinate successful a bulk achromatic sport.”

Even privately, Townsend said different players came up to her to broach the taxable and explicit their support. Online, she gained thousands of societal media followers.

“It’s chill to cognize that radical spot you and radical are watching and much than anything,” Townsend said. “I was hoping that it was received a definite benignant of way, and it was, truthful it was conscionable outer validation that I handled things the close mode and that’s what I’m the astir arrogant of and the astir blessed with. I wasn’t looking for that, and successful my answers and erstwhile I decided and I spoke and I said what I said I wasn’t looking for those things, but it’s bully to cognize that I made radical proud.”

Townsend is successful the 4th circular astatine the US Open, much than a decennary aft the US Tennis Association decided to clasp her retired of inferior contention implicit concerns astir her fitness. The organisation successful 2012 withheld backing for her tourney appearances portion she focused connected getting successful amended shape.

In the intervening time, she has go ascendant successful doubles, winning Wimbledon past twelvemonth and the Australian Open earlier this twelvemonth with spouse Katerina Siniakova, and the brace is the apical effect successful Flushing Meadows.

Townsend, who has not gotten past the 4th circular successful singles astatine a major, volition look two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova connected Sunday.

If she reaches the quarterfinals this time, she wants the acquisition to beryllium that it is OK to basal up for yourself.

“Sometimes I consciousness similar successful society, particularly radical of colour, we are expected to beryllium silenced, oregon sometimes determination are times wherever we person to determine and beryllium precise strategical arsenic to erstwhile we talk up, and successful these benignant of moments, it’s important for maine to talk up, not lone for myself but for my culture,” Townsend said.

“No substance what, nary substance what attraction comes oregon whatever, I deliberation it’s astir being unapologetically yourself, beryllium blessed successful who you are and ne'er let anyone to instrumentality you retired of your quality and who you are arsenic a person.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies