Jelena Ostapenko Breaks Silence on ‘No Class, No Education’ Comment on Taylor Townsend After Being Called Racist

After her “no class, no education” remark, Jelena Ostapenko took to Instagram story to explain her conduct during her US Open second-round clash with Taylor Townsend, held on Wednesday (August 27). Ostapenko was accused of being racist, but she defended herself in another Instagram story.

This all started when Townsend won a point after the ball hit the net cord. As Townsend did not apologize (players usually apologize when this happens), it angered the Latvian, who, at the handshake after her 7-5, 6-1 defeat, argued fiercely with the home favorite and was booed heavily.

People get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things. She told me I have no class, no education, and see what happens when we go outside the US. I am looking forward to it. I mean, I beat her in Canada.

Taylor Townsend said during her on-court interview

Ostapenko, in her Instagram story, explained the reason behind initiating the argument. She blamed Townsend for two things: for not apologizing after winning the net cord point, and for not warming up on the baseline.

The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at then which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match.

Her comment during the argument at the net was perceived to be racist, but Ostapenko has defended herself. She wrote on Instagram story:

I was never a racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world for me it doesn’t matter where you come from.

Townsend has now become the lowest-ranked American woman since 2019 to win a match against a Grand Slam champion in a Major.

Taylor Townsend responds to Jelena Ostapenko’s warm-up complaint

At the press conference after her win, Taylor Townsend was asked about Jelena Ostapenko’s Instagram stories, which the former said she hadn’t seen. About the warm-up complaint, Townsend pointed out that this is the way she has been warming up since the start of her career.

So, if she’s complaining about how I warm up, that’s fine. Everyone knows this isn’t this is something that I do. You can go back to the time that I played my first-ever pro tennis match. And I’ve been doing this since even junior.

Townsend found the entire thing comical. She also found it funny that Ostapenko had to go online to explain her conduct. She joked that perhaps the reason why she fired up was because she is an Aries and wore an outfit with a fire pattern.

Ostapenko has never played beyond the quarterfinal at the US Open. The 2017 French Open champion’s Grand Slam campaigns this season have ended without her reaching the fourth round.

It was their third clash in singles, and Townsend has improved her head-to-head record to 2-1. In doubles, the 27-year-olds hold an 8-1 head-to-head lead over Ostapenko.

Townsend’s third-round opponent is Mirra Andreeva, who won both her first two matches without breaking a sweat, losing just five games. The 18-year-old will be playing the third round of the US Open for the first time in her career.

Her best performnce in a Major was her semifinal appearance in last year’s French Open. Townsend- a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion-has only reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles event once- at the 2019 US Open.

She trails 0-1 in the head-to-head matchups with the Russian teenager, losing in three sets in their encounter in last year’s Madrid Open. Andreeva is searching for her first title since her victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final- also her back-to-back WTA 1000 wins after her successful campaign at the Dubai Open.

Also read: Jannik Sinner Looks Back on ‘The’ Match that Revolutionized his Rivalry With Carlos Alcaraz