No. 3 ranked Coco Gauff also contributed her thoughts on the matter (videos)
Tennis superstars Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff slammed the racist comments that fellow player Jelena Ostapenko made after losing to Taylor Townsend, who is African American.
The tennis players have a showdown at the net
After the second-round match at the U.S. Open in New York, Ostapenko began berating the triumphant Townsend for allegedly failing to follow normal tennis protocol. Ostapenko said it is customary that when the ball strikes the net, but nevertheless bounces onto the opponent’s side of the court, the person raises his or her hand and apologizes. Townsend did not perform this courtesy when she was the beneficiary of the fortuitous ball strike, intensifying the anger broiling within Ostapenko, who was losing the match.
After pointing at Townsend during their dramatic, face-to-face shouting match, Ostapenko hurled several insults at Townsend as she walked away, including the accusation that she has “no class” and “no education.”
Naomi Osaka weighs in on the matter
During her own press conference later on, Osaka said that uttering such tripe is “one of the worst things you could say to a Black tennis player,” The Guardian reports.
Townsend, however, said she did not think there was a racial undertone to Ostapenko’s comments. “I didn’t take it in that way, but also that has been a stigma in our community of being not educated, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2017, denied any element of racism in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
The four-time tennis champ Osaka predicts that Ostapenko won’t make the same mistake again.
“I think it’s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to,” she said. “I don’t think she knows the history of it in America. But I know she’s never going to say that ever again in her life. It was just terrible.
Speaking on the subject the next day, Osaka said, “I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport.
“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.”
Coco Gauff also contributed her thoughts
Gauff was also asked about the episode. The 21-year-old, two-time Grand Slam winner understands what it’s like to be the target of her opponent’s diatribe. After Gauff defeated the world’s number one-ranked Aryna Sabalenka to win the French Open title in May 2025, the Belarusian twice blamed the weather for her loss to Gauff instead of the Atlanta native’s superior play. Sabalenka was resoundingly condemned worldwide for her remarks and apologized the next day.
Regarding Ostapenko, she said that her outburst at Townsend was also a case of emotions spilling out after her defeat.
“I think it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I think Jelena was probably feeling emotions after she lost,” Gauff said during her press conference, according to ESPN. “I do think that shouldn’t have been said regardless of how you’re feeling, especially given those were the reasons that she stated.”
Gauff added, “Knowing Taylor personally, she’s the opposite of that.”
AloJapan.com