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Jelena Ostapenko, Taylor Townsend
NEED TO KNOW
- Taylor Townsend is reflecting on her reaction after her confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko
- The tennis star told reporters that she was “proud” of how she has handled it
- After their match on Wednesday, Ostapenko pointed her finger repeatedly at Townsend and was heard telling her “You have no education”
Taylor Townsend is feeling the love.
One day after she exchanged words with Jelena Ostapenko at the net following her second-round win the US Open, the doubles champion is looking back at the controversial confrontation.
“I’m really proud of the way that I handled it,” Townsend, 29, told reporters on Thursday, Aug. 28. “I didn’t allow the situation to take me out of my character or to lose my integrity as a person, and that’s what really matters.”
She added, “I’ve gotten so much love and support from so many people and that’s really what it’s about, being able to come together and support.”
After they shook hands following the match on Wednesday, Aug. 27 — which Townsend won 7-5, 6-1 — the pair appeared to get into a heated argument.
Ostapenko, 28, told Townsend that she should say “sorry” for a shot that clipped the top of the net but stayed in play, which is known as a net cord, according to The Athletic.
Townsend disagreed, which prompted the Latvian athlete to point her finger repeatedly aggressively at her.
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Taylor Townsend
“I’ve talked to a lot of people about it,” Townsend said. “Honestly, people have come up to me, I haven’t enticed any sort of conversation, and everyone that I’ve spoken to, who saw anything, they obviously said that it was disrespectful. Even the mannerisms of her hand pointing at my face, like I’m a child, and just the things that she was saying.”
In footage from the moment, Ostapenko appeared to tell Townsend “You have no education” multiple times.
Microphones picked Townsend then telling Ostapenko to “take the L [loss].”
Townsend’s reaction has drawn praise from her peers, including Naomi Osaka.
“I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport,” Osaka, 27, who has a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, told reporters on Thursday, Aug. 28. “And granted, 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.”
Looking back, Townsend doubly faults Ostapenko’s behavior.
“Everyone said that it was bad behavior,” the mother of one told reporters. “And it was also very hypocritical. She’s not known to have sportsmanship, doesn’t have the best code of conduct. So to try and call me out on something that you don’t even do yourself is crazy. I spoke to several players about it, but I’m not that kind of person to keep drama going. I’m very clear as to where I stand and how I feel about the situation.”
Read the original article on People