Taylor Townsend Left in Tears as Barbora Krejcikova Nearly Escapes Defeat to End Her Dream US Open Run

Tennis is all about big wins and losses, pride and disappointment. This time, Taylor Townsend brought a new level to singles. The American doubles World No.1, who won two grand slams at the 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 Australian Open, made significant steps forward in singles. But she was no match for Barbora Krejcikova!

On Sunday, Townsend played convincingly against the 2024 Wimbledon singles champion. She took the first set with a breadstick. The second set was a nailbiter, going to a tiebreaker that ended in the Czech’s favor. Finally, Krejcikova broke Townsend enough to win the third set. The match ended 1-6, 7-6, 6-3!

It was a tough fight for the tennis mom. She defeated 25th seed Jelena Ostapenko and fifth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the last 16. When the match ended, Townsend was in tears at her bench. She cried before packing up her stuff.

Taylor was one of the last six Americans still playing at the US Open, along with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Fritz, and Ann Li. Now, she will focus on the doubles tournament with Kateřina Siniaková. Will they make a deep run? Only time will tell!

Six years ago, Taylor Townsend pulled off a memorable win against Simona Halep, reaching the US Open’s fourth round for the first time. At that moment, it felt like her big breakthrough, but it ended up being a rare highlight. Reflecting on her 7-5, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Andreeva, she said, “I’m a totally different person than I was in 2019, and I think that that showed.”

Though her run came to an end, Taylor knows she needs to elevate her game even more. It’s not just about physical strength anymore, her mental toughness has played a big part in past successes and will be key moving forward.

Taylor Townsend talks about mental pressure in tennis

Before meeting two-time Grand Slam champ Barbora Krejcikova for a spot in her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal, she laid it out straight: “Tennis is 85, 90 percent mental,” she said in a press conference. “For me, I accepted that that was my downfall and that was my flaw, and I decided to dive into that. It’s been uncomfortable, it hasn’t been easy, but I’m doing the work. And I’m saying ‘doing,’ because it’s an ongoing thing. It’s not a thing where you do it and it’s like, ‘Okay, cool. Check. It’s an ongoing process.'”

Her singles journey had its share of fire. After beating Ostapenko, the Latvian snapped, calling her “no class” and “no education” at the net, though Ostapenko later apologized on social media. Townsend was fired up by the argument, but remained grounded in the press-conference after.

She said, “Like I said when everything first happened, you cannot push your expectations on other people. 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. For me, it’s nice that she apologized.” 

Townsend then shocked No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in the third round and raced through the first set on Sunday in just 28 minutes, nearly hitting her major breakthrough. Though she lost to Krejcikova, her fight was fierce. She held a break point at 5-4 in the third set after an intense 90-minute battle, coming just shy of victory. Fans rallied behind her.

But her US Open story isn’t over. She’s still in the doubles tournament with Katerina Siniakova, headed for the round of 16 against Yue Yuan and Camila Osorio. Will she bring the heat for a deep run? Drop your thoughts below, and follow our Live Blog for the latest US Open updates!