Jelena Ostapenko has apologised for her feedback in the direction of Taylor Townsend on the US Open.
The Latvian reacted furiously after dropping to Townsend within the second spherical at Flushing Meadows, jabbing her finger repeatedly within the American’s face and accusing her of getting “no education” and “no class“.
The supply of Ostapenko’s ire was Townsend’s failure to apologise for a internet twine however her language led to claims of racism, with Naomi Osaka saying the training remark was “one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport”.
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Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend had a heated trade following their post-match handshake within the second spherical of the US Open
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Taylor Townsend says she did not should ‘defend something’ after her post-match trade with Ostapenko
Ostapenko declined to talk to the media however denied being racist on social media whereas defending her actions.
In an additional assertion on Instagram addressing her behaviour, she wrote: “I needed to apologise for a few of the issues I mentioned throughout my second-round singles match.
“English isn’t my native language so after I mentioned training, I used to be talking solely about what I imagine as tennis etiquette, however I perceive how the phrases I used might have offended many individuals past the tennis court docket.
“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.”
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Naomi Osaka says ‘no training’ feedback from Ostapenko in the direction of Townsend is ‘one of many worst issues you would say to a black participant’
Townsend has discovered herself as arguably the face of the primary week and she or he used the incident as inspiration to propel her to a shock third-round victory over fifth seed Mirra Andreeva.
“I’m really just proud that I kept the main thing the main thing,” mentioned the 29-year-old.
“I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me over these last 48 hours. It’s bigger than me. It’s about the message, it’s about the representation, it’s about being bold and being able to show up as yourself, and I did that tonight.”
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