At the beginning of last week, Latvian deer Ostapenko stole subtitles in the opening rounds of the US Open for all bad reasons. Days after turning Taylor Townsend, during which the American called the “uneducated”, Ostapenko finally released an apology.
Development comes after a wave of criticism and fans accuse it of racially insensitive remarks. Ostapenko initially responded badly after losing to Townsend in the second round of the tournament. Townsend defeated seed no. 25 and 2017 French Open Champion 7-5, 6-1. During the pure handshake, the tension expanded when Ostapenko accused her of “no class” and “no education”.
The dispute stems from two incidents. Ostapenko claimed that Townsend broke the tennis etiquette by not apologizing for the winner of the clean and warm up in the net before the match. After the loss, she still frustrated and repeated her accusations in front of the wrapped Arthur Ashe stadium and drew loud boos from the crowd in New York.
Ostapenko later triggered a Townsend on social media and stood firmly in her explosion after the match.
“After the match, I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful. She had a clean cord at a crucial moment and didn’t apologize.
Her comments were upset by several players on the circuit. Naomi Osaka reacted strongly and urged Ostapenko to learn about the history of black Americans. Osaka said that the story of a black tennis player, that he had no “education”, is one of the worst things someone could say.
After Osaka’s comments, Ostapenko’s criticism has intensified because many fans found racial undertones in their notes. While Townsend herself did not believe that Ostapenko was racist, the fans were less forgiving.
The reaction of Ostapenko to the stir was little calm. Instead of distracting the controversy, it doubled and prevented its comments.
“Wow, how many news I received that I was a racist. I’ve never been racist in my life and I respect all nations and people in the world. For me it doesn’t matter where you come from. There are some rules in tennis, and unfortunately when the crowd is with you, you can’t use it disrespect for your opponent.
“Unfortunately for me, coming from such a small country, I have no chance or chance to play in my homeland. I always loved playing in the US and the US Open, but this is the first time someone approached the match in such a disrespectful way,” Ostapenko added.
On August 30, however, in response to controversy, she made a third and most conciliatory statement. She explained that English was not her native language and explained that her use of the word “education” referred to a tennis etiquette.
Ostapenko also dealt with a wider response to her comments and apologized for any injury.
“Hi everyone-I have apologized for some of the things I said during my second round of singles.
While Ostapenko is out of the tournament, Taylor Townsend will take Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round. She also continued her strong run in the women’s doubles competition together with Katerina Siniak. The duo defeated Alycia Parks and Dayan Yastrems in the second round.
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Published on:
31 August 2025
