Taylor Townsend Breaks Silence on Jelena Ostapenko’s Apology After ‘No Class, No Education’ Jibe at US Open

Taylor Townsend had tied the head-to-head matchups with Jelena Ostapenko after their US Open clash, which was overshadowed by an ugly altercation.

Taylor Townsend Breaks Silence on Jelena Ostapenko’s Apology After ‘No Class, No Education’ Jibe at US Open

Jelena Ostapenko, Taylor Townsend (Image via X/LEA)

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Jelena Ostapenko‘s “no class, no education” jibe at Taylor Townsend was perceived as a racist remark. The incident took place during the customary handshake after their second-round clash at the US Open.

After heavy criticism from all corners, Ostapenko took to Instagram to defend herself, saying the remark did not carry any racist intent. In another Instagram story, the Latvian ace apologized, and Townsend, following her second-round doubles match she played alongside Katerina Siniakova, was asked in the press conference about it.

She expected for me to react a certain type of way, and I didn’t, and it infuriated her. Which led her to say things that are hurtful, that are belligerent, that are offensive, not only to me, but, you know, to the sport and to a whole culture of people that I try to do my best to represent the best that I can. It’s nice that she apologized.

Ostapenko initiated the argument because Townsend did not apologize for a net cord point. The 28-year-old was also frustrated because Townsend did not warm up from the baseline.

The incident made headlines all over the world and received mixed reactions from both fans as well as their colleagues. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka showed some support to Ostapenko, saying emotions get the better of her and she ends up reacting in such a manner. But Naomi Osaka felt what Ostapenko said could be the worst thing one could say to a Black player.

Townsend now holds a 2-1 head-to-head record over Ostapenko in their singles matches. The 2017 French Open champion, who produced her best US Open performance by reaching the quarterfinals in 2023, failed to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles tournament this season.

Taylor Townsend on playing at Arthur Ashe Stadium

Taylor Townsend will be playing the fourth round of the US Open singles for the second time in her career. It was in New York in 2019 that she produced her best Grand Slam performance in singles. Before the US Open, Townsend failed to progress beyond the first round of the first three Majors in singles.

Taylor Townsend
Taylor Townsend (Image via X/Christopher Levy)

She booked a spot in the fourth round by defeating fifth seed Mirra Andreeva. After two back-to-back matches on Court 11, Townsend finally played her first match on Arthur Ashe Stadium. At the press conference after her win over the Russian teenager, Townsend was asked about her experience playing on one of the main courts.

Like, this is some people’s first time interacting and like finding out who Taylor Townsend is, right? There’s a lot of familiar faces in here, but you know, there are a lot of people who may not have had any idea who I was. And so that’s a great point. You know, people being able to see me now, but then being able to go back and go back into history or my history and follow my journey and figure out how has she gotten here, you know? I think that that’s super cool, and that’s one of the things that people are resonating with.

Townsend has tied the head-to-head record over Andreeva to 1-1. Andreeva, a semifinalist at the 2024 French Open, played her career’s first fourth-round match at the US Open.

Apart from her career’s singles title, Townsend is also chasing her third Grand Slam doubles title. One of these victories came at this year’s Australian Open, where she and Katerina Siniakova defeated Jelena Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei. The pair will meet the winner of the second-round match between Anna Blinkova and Magdalena Frech and the team of Yuan Yue and Camila Osorio.

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