(August 30, 2025) FLUSHING, NY – Jelena Ostapenko apologized on social media on Saturday for telling Taylor Townsend she had “no education” after losing to her at the US Open earlier in the week, explaining that she intended to call out Townsend for what Ostapenko perceived as poor tennis etiquette. The Latvian player posted the apology on her Instagram account.
US Open: Townsend and Ostapenko Get into Argument at the Net After Townsend Wins
Taylor Townsend spoke to the media after winning her second-round doubles match and only at this news conference that she found out about the apology. Ostapenko is yet to contact her directly.
“No, that’s why I was, like, y’all have news for me. So I was hoping someone would tell me,” she said to media.
“No, I didn’t know that. I mean, the fact of the matter is, like I said the other day, I’m still playing. So I don’t have time to be tapped in on what she’s got going on and what she says.
“I had a job to do today. Got it done in the doubles. Like I said, this is part of it, right, being able to disconnect from whatever is happening on the outside, because I have a goal while I’m here. I said it last night, just keeping the main thing the main thing, which is I’m here to continue to grow and grow as a player and play my best tennis and put that on display. Anything that gets in the way of that has got to go.
“So I haven’t seen anything. I didn’t know, I don’t know what she said. But I’m still here. So I’m glad that she has the time to be able to do that.”
After an ESPN.com reporter read the Instagram post to Townsend, she responded:
“No, that’s nice that she did that, that she apologized. I mean, that’s fine. That’s cool.”
“At the end of the day, I think that it’s a learning lesson for her. Again, like I said when everything first happened, you cannot push your expectations on other people. That’s ultimately what happened.
“She expected for me to react a certain type of way, and I didn’t, and it infuriated her. Which led her to say things that are hurtful, that are belligerent, that are offensive, not only to me, but, you know, to the sport and to a whole culture of people that I try to do my best to represent the best that I can.
“So for me, it’s nice that she apologized. You know, this isn’t the first, second, third, fourth time. There have been incidents where she gets upset about a net cord so it’s not a surprising thing that she acted this way.
“Also, we just have to keep in mind that it’s competition, we’re playing a sport. You know, you can’t get upset if someone doesn’t do something that you want them to do. Like, who are you? I can’t get mad that you don’t do something that maybe I expect for you to do.
“Ultimately, when we get our emotions wrapped up in things is where we get our feelings hurt. I think that’s ultimately what happened. It’s great she went to social media and apologized. I really hope from this she can take that, hey, you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.”
Townsend is more focused on her fourth-round match in singles on Sunday, when she plays two-time major winner Barbora Krejcikova for chance to reach her first major singles quarterfinal in singles.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I’m really excited. A.J. (her son) just got here, so I’m really pumped for him to be able to be here. He hasn’t been to the US Open since he was, like, one-and-a-half. So I’m excited for him to be back here with me and for him just to be able to see me play. I love it.
“So I’m excited for the match. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Barbora has been playing some really great tennis, she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion. I have a ton of respect for her. Really nice person.
“It’s going to be a battle and it’s going to be a fight, and I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to being able to continue to show up as my best self and make a commitment to myself to show up as me and just be Taylor. That’s enough.”
Speaking about her son, Townsend, No. 1 in doubles, relayed a story from when her son met Carlos Alcaraz:
“It was funny, because in Cincinnati I asked Carlos Alcaraz to take a picture with him, he was so nice. Yeah, of course.”
“I was just like, A.J., Carlos. I forgot he’s not No. 1. I was like, Carlos is No. 1 too. A.J. goes, You’re No. 1? Just like my mom. Carlos was like, I’m kind of close. He played it off.
“So it was funny, too, because he just doesn’t even have any concept of who Carlos Alcaraz is and how amazing he is. It’s really cool just to see him be able to experience me in this space. It’s also nice for me to be able to have him, even if it’s for short amount of times, this helps me disconnect. You know, it helps me to be able to balance all of the crazy.
“It’s an innate thing where as soon as he’s around and as soon as I’m off the court and the job is done, like, I just go into mom mode where I’m like, Did you drink water today? Do you have to pee?
Just go into mom mode. It’s nice, because it completely takes your mind off whatever happened on the court.
“You know, in tennis, because of the environment and how everything is structured, especially here in New York, everything is crazy and fast, it’s easy for you to kind of like get wrapped up and continue and carry things on, you know, and allow things to keep moving and keep going.
“You drag one day into the next or you weren’t doing certain things well in this match and it could carry over into your warm-up or your practice the next day.
“So for me, it’s nice that, first off, with everything that’s happened, that I didn’t allow those things to happen, but then also, my son being here, it really kind of gives me a hard boundary where I can just completely turn off from tennis and just be a mom.”
Related articles:
US Open: Taylor Townsend Says “Welcome to the Show” as She Stuns No. 5 Seed Mirra Andreeva
US Open: Aftermath of Townsend-Ostapenko
US Open: Townsend and Ostapenko Get into Argument at the Net After Townsend Wins
