Jelena Ostapenko apologized on Saturday, taking to social media after her US Open incident with Taylor Townsend, following her second-round loss in which she said Townsend, who is black, had “no education.”
Ostapenko, who was the No. 25 seed, again went to social media to issue an apology for saying things after her 7-5, 6-1 loss, in which she confronted Townsend at the net and continued to argue with her following the match. Townsend told ESPN during an interview that Ostapenko also said she had “no class.”
In the statement, Ostapenko did not reference Townsend, who will play her fourth-round singles match on Sunday.
“Hi all – I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match,’ Ostapenka wrote on Instagram. ‘English is not my native language, so when I said education, I was speaking only about what I believe as tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court. I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and a tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
In her first statement after the loss, Ostapenko said her opponent ‘was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry at all.’
“There are some rules in tennis that most of the players follow, and it was the first time 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,’ Ostapenko wrote.
It led two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka to discuss the comments and defend Townsend, the world’s No. 1-ranked doubles player.
“It’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport,’ Osaka said. ‘I know Taylor and I know how hard she’s worked and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that. I think it’s ill-timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to. And I don’t know if she knows the history of it in America.”