Things got heated between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko at the 2025 US Open.
On Wednesday (August 27), Townsend, 29, and Ostapenko, 28, went head-to-head in a second round match that Townsend won 7-5 6-1.
After the match, the two tennis stars shook hands, but then got into a heated argument.
Keep reading to find out more…The fiery exchange appeared to begin after Ostapenko told Townsend that she should apologize for a shot that clipped the top of a net but stayed in play, which is known as a net cord, The Athletic reported.
Townsend seemingly responded back, “No, I don’t have to say sorry.” As boos from the audience intensified, Ostapenko can be seen pointing her finger and shouting at Townsend.
Ostapenko appeared visibly confused and shook her head multiple times as the argument carried on and told Townsend three that, “You have no education.”
On-court microphones that picked up Townsend telling the Latvian player to “take the L [loss].”
In a post-match interview with ESPN, Townsend addressed the argument with Ostapenko, saying that “people get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things.”
She then claimed that Ostapenko told her she has “no class, I have no education and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.”
“So I’m looking forward to it,” the American player added. “I mean, I beat her in Canada, outside the U.S. I beat her in New York [inside] the U.S., so let’s see what else she has to say.”
In her post-game press conference, Townsend made it clear that there has “never been any history” between she and Ostapenko. She also attributed Ostapenko‘s attitude to competition as she was playing “really well” before the “tables turned.”
“I chalk it up to being upset and, you know, she pulled out all the stops to try and break the momentum. Sometimes people do that, but it is what it is,” Townsend said, noting that she was not expecting an apology from Ostapenko.
“There’s no beef. But again, like you guys saw, I didn’t back down because you’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect,” Townsend continued. “If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter.”
Ostapenko later addressed the situation on her Instagram Story where she said that Townsend was “very disrespectful” for not saying “sorry” after “she had a net ball in a very deciding moment” in the match.
“Her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all,” Ostapenko added. “There are some rules of tennis which most of the players follow and it was first time ever that this happened to me on tour. If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”
When asked if she believed that Ostapenko‘s comments had racial undertones, Townsend said she couldn’t speak for Ostapenko‘s intentions.
However, Ostapenko fired back at being called “racist” in a follow-up Story.
“Wow how many messages I received that I am a 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,” she wrote. “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.”
Ostapenko continued, “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.”
Taylor Townsend is set to play Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in her third-round match at the 2025 US Open on Friday, August 29.
Source: justjared.com