The tension in Court 11 was already high as the New York crowd waited to see a clash of the 2018 US Open rivalry unfurl once again. Very likely so, it did. Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got into a face-to-face argument on the sideline right after Townsend won their second-round match 7-5, 6-1 on Wednesday. Their customary handshake at the net turned sour as the two continued to talk, as Townsend was heard saying, “No, I don’t have to…” Despite facing a grumpy Ostapenko, the American star isn’t really ruffled by the unrest. In fact, she’s ready to give it a twist.

During the post-match press conference, the 29-year-old star dismissed anything between the two being a beef. She said, “It is what it is, you know. 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?

“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. So, you know, it was unfortunate. But, you know, it’s something I can put on my TikTok.” 

During the on-court interview with ESPN, Townsend disclosed, “I mean, it’s competition. People get upset when they lose, and some people say bad things. She told me I have no class, I have no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the US. So, I’m looking forward to it.”

It’s worth noting that the 28-year-old Latvian star was fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Then, after losing to Tatjana Maria at Wimbledon in 2022, she threw a water bottle at the German. This time, both players openly expressed disrespect. And soon after Taylor Townsend revealed her views, Ostapenko broke her silence on Instagram stories.

Jelena Ostapenko shares her side of the beef with Taylor Townsend

Ostapenko quickly turned to Instagram to explain why she was upset. She wrote, “Today after the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry, but her answer was she doesn’t have to say sorry at all…” This explains what Taylor Townsend meant when she shouted, “No, I don’t have to…” during the face-off against the Latvian.

Ostapenko put the emphasis on the rules. And according to her, Townsend’s behavior wasn’t in alignment with the rulebook. She continued, “In the beginning of the match, all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline. The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at then, which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match.”

When Townsend was told about the post, which she had not seen until her post-match presser, she was quite diplomatic with her answer again. She told the reporter who read Jelena’s post to her, “I don’t need one (an apology from Jelena). It’s sports. I think people have gone a little soft. I’m not gonna lie. It’s sports. People talk trash, people say things, people get mad.

“Everyone has a right to feel how they feel. The problem is, don’t push your expectations on me. If you expect for someone to apologize and they don’t, you getting upset about it is your fault. Not mine. At the end of the day, I was shocked that it was in net court ’cause I was ready to play that point.”

From Townsend’s view, Jelena’s reaction is nothing but heat from the competition. From the Latvian’s view, she is only following the rulebook. What do you think of the friction between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko? And as you proceed to the comments section, don’t forget to take a look at the EssentiallySports Live Blog for fresh beats from Flushing Meadows.