The 2025 US Open witnessed a dramatic confrontation between tennis stars Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko following their second-round match, which ended in a decisive victory for Townsend.
Heated Exchange Between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko at the 2025 US Open
Things escalated quickly between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko during their match at the 2025 US Open.
On Wednesday, August 27, Townsend, 29, faced off against Ostapenko, 28, in a second-round match that Townsend won decisively with a score of 7-5, 6-1.
Following the match, the two players shook hands but quickly became embroiled in a heated argument.
The confrontation reportedly began when Ostapenko suggested that Townsend should apologize for a shot that clipped the net but remained in play, referred to as a net cord, according to The Athletic.
Townsend retorted, “No, I don’t have to say sorry.” As the audience began to boo, Ostapenko was seen pointing her finger and shouting at Townsend.
Visibly confused, Ostapenko shook her head repeatedly during the argument, asserting to Townsend that, “You have no education.”
On-court microphones captured Townsend telling the Latvian player to “take the L [loss].”
In a post-match interview with ESPN, Townsend addressed the altercation, stating, “People get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things.”
She claimed that Ostapenko accused her of having “no class” and “no education,” and remarked, “Let’s see what happens when we get outside the U.S.”
“I mean, I beat her in Canada, outside the U.S., and I beat her in New York [inside] the U.S., so let’s see what else she has to say,” Townsend added.
During her post-game press conference, Townsend emphasized that there has “never been any history” between her and Ostapenko. She attributed Ostapenko‘s behavior to the pressures of competition, as she had been playing “really well” before the “tables turned.”
See More ...
“I chalk it up to being upset, and she pulled out all the stops to try and break my momentum. Sometimes people do that, but it is what it is,” Townsend said, clarifying that she did not expect 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 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 took to her Instagram Story to express that Townsend was “very disrespectful” for not apologizing 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 noted. “There are some rules of tennis that most players follow, and it was the first time that this happened to me on tour. Just because she plays in her homeland doesn’t mean she can behave however she wants.”
When asked if she believed Ostapenko‘s comments had racial undertones, Townsend stated she couldn’t speak for Ostapenko‘s intentions.
In response to being labeled “racist,” Ostapenko defended herself in a follow-up Story, saying, “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 continued, “There are some rules in tennis, and unfortunately, when the crowd is with you, you can’t use it in a disrespectful way against your opponent.”
Ostapenko added, “Unfortunately for me, coming from such a small country, I don’t have that huge support and a chance to play in my homeland. I always loved to play in the US and the US OPEN, but this is the first time someone approached the match in such a disrespectful way.”
Taylor Townsend is scheduled to face Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in her third-round match at the 2025 US Open on Friday, August 29.
