Naomi Osaka Breaks Silence on Taylor Townsend–Jelena Ostapenko Controversy at US Open: “Ill Timing”

“She told me I have no class, no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the US.” Taylor Townsend was fairly upset with Jelena Ostapenko’s words following the American’s win with two straight sets in the second round. Instead of accepting defeat and splitting up after the post-match handshake, the players engaged in a heated on-court scuffle. Needless to say, most of the professionals and fans, including Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, refused to side with Ostapenko. And now, it was Naomi Osaka’s turn to react. 

After winning her second-round US Open match against Hailey Baptiste with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1, Osaka had to get honest at the post-match press conference, when a reporter asked about her opinion on the Taylor Townsend-Jelena Ostapenko altercation. Osaka admitted that she saw it all. After all, the incident appeared on TV every 15 minutes. So, what does Naomi Osaka think? “I think, obviously, it’s one of the worst things that you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport. 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.” 

She pointed out that this wasn’t really the “craziest” thing that Ostapenko has ever said. She continued, “I think it’s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to. And I don’t think that she knows the history of it in America. But I know she’s never gonna say that ever again in her life. But yeah, I mean, it’s just terrible. Like that’s just really bad.” 

Frances Tiafoe was of a similar mindset. Reflecting on the incident after a win over Martin Damm Jr., Tiafoe claimed that there was absolutely no reason for Ostapenko to tread the troubled waters. Well, he was actually standing in favor of altercations. He claimed that such drama was good entertainment. But one must not go overboard. Meanwhile, Ben Shelton believed that it was “Not the smartest thing to say to an American in New York City.” With his support for his US Open Mixed Doubles partner outshining everything else, Shelton called the Latvian’s words “crazy statement.”

With comments against Ostapenko flying around the media, Taylor Townsend just had to mellow things down. But how can someone who just got into a heated spat turn things around? The answer was humor. 

Taylor Townsend uses humor to settle the storm against Jelena Ostapenko

In the post-match interview, after beating Ostapenko with a scoreline of 7-5, 6-1, Townsend revealed her thoughts on the friction with her rival, playing down the incident as much as possible. She said, “Still, there’s no beef. But again, like you guys saw, I didn’t back down, because you’re not gonna insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect. If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter and that’s tennis, right?

So, where’s the touch of humor in that? Well, have you ever heard of anyone dismissing a heated scuffle as nothing but social media content? That’s what Townsend thought of this incident. She continued, “No matter what’s going on, it’s me vs you. At the end of the day, we have to respect each other. It was a competition.” Labeling what happened as “unfortunate,” she added, “But, you know, it’s something I can put on my TikTok.” 

What are your thoughts on the scuffle between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko? And as you drop down to the comments below, don’t forget to head to our EssentiallySports Live Blog for more updates from Flushing Meadows.