If you’re a tennis fan — or, if you’ve been online at all in the last few days — you’re probably aware of what took place between Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend at the US Open earlier this week.
If you missed it, here’s the rundown: After Taylor defeated Jelena in a second-round matchup on Wednesday, Aug. 27, the pair got in a heated argument courtside in which Jelena said Taylor had “no class” and “no education.”
According to CNN, Jelena initially claimed that she was specifically referring to the finer points of tennis etiquette — specifically, a moment in their match in which Taylor failed to apologize after a net cord assisted in one of her earned points. “There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was (the) first time ever that this happened to me on tour,” she reportedly posted on social media. “If she plays in her homeland, it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”
The resulting backlash in the tennis world was, understandably, swift. Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka told reporters regarding the incident, “I think obviously it’s one of the worst things 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…but if you’re, like, genuinely asking me about the history of Ostapenko, I don’t think that’s the craziest thing she’s said. I’m going to be honest.”
Now, Jelena is walking back her comments. “Hi all — I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match,” she wrote in a statement posted to her IG story. “English is not my native language, so when I said education, I was speaking only about what I believe as tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.”
“I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
Taylor, for her part, told reporters yesterday that she hadn’t heard from Jelena personally — nor did she have the time to read her apology, as she is still competing in the US Open (unlike, notably, Jelena).
“I don’t have time to be tapped in on what she’s got going on and what she says,” Taylor said, later adding, “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.”
