Taylor Townsend, the current WTA world No. 1 in women's doubles, saw her solid start to the US Open continue Wednesday.
Townsend, who defeated Antonia Ruzic in the first round of the major, then beat 25th-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in consecutive sets, 7-5 and 6-1. But it was what followed the Townsend vs. Ostapenko match that got even more attention.
Ostapenko, a Latvian star who won the 2017 French Open, got into an altercation with Townsend as the two exchanged some words on the court. On the TV broadcast, Townsend then revealed what Ostapenko allegedly said to her.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Here's what to know about Wednesday's altercation between Townsend and Ostapenko.
MORE: When is Coco Gauff's next match at the US Open
Taylor Townsend- Jelena Ostapenko US Open confrontation
Townsend upset Ostapenko in quick fashion Wednesday, with the American seeking her furthest singles run at the US Open, or any major, since 2019 when she made it to the fourth round.
As the two tennis stars went to shake hands following the match, it became apparent that they weren't exchanging kind words. Ostapenko appeared to say something that Townsend didn't like, and they went back-and-forth for some time before Townsend walked away and started pumping up the crowd.
Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got in a heated interaction after their second round match at the US Open.
— ESPN (@espn) August 27, 2025
Townsend is on to the third round. pic.twitter.com/cOIYzoyfmG
Here's another angle of the interaction:
😭👏 Townsend to Ostapenko:
— Olly Tennis 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) August 27, 2025
“You can learn how to take a loss better” pic.twitter.com/L0m5GGAVC6
Townsend's interview with ESPN following the incident helped provide some insight into what the two were arguing about.
"It’s competition. People get upset when they lose. 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 U.S.," Townsend told ESPN. "I'm looking forward to it. I mean, I beat her in Canada, outside the U.S."
After a heated second round match at the US Open, American Taylor Townsend calls out her opponent, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko:
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 27, 2025
"She told me I have no class, I have no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S." pic.twitter.com/FikAWiitcO
While the win marked Townsend's first victory against a top-25 opponent since 2023, it also certainly resulted in some controversy afterwards.
Ostapenko then took to Instagram after the match, writing on social media that she “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 that she doesn't have to say sorry at all."
"There are some rules in tennis that most of the players follow and it was first time ever that this happened to me on tour. If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants."
Ostapenko also added on Instagram that Townsend allegedly began her warm up before the match "straight away" which was "very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match," and that she would "come back stronger" from the loss.
Around an hour later, Ostapenko wrote on Instagram that she had been receiving messages calling her "a racist."
"I respect all nations of people in the world, for me it doesn't matter where you come from. There are some rules in tennis and unfortunately when the crowd is with you you can't use it in a disrespectful way to your opponent," Ostapenko wrote. "Unfortunately for me coming from such a small country I don't have that huge support and a chance to play in homeland. I always loved playing in the US and US Open, but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way."
Per the AP, Ostapenko has a history of incidents during matches, including in 2021 when she lost to Alja Tomljanovic at Wimbledon. Tomljanovic allegedly accused Ostapenko of lying about needing to leave the court for a medical timeout.
"She's not known to have sportsmanship, doesn't have the best code of conduct," Townsend said on Thursday. "So to try and call me out on something that you don't even do yourself is crazy. "
Townsend said she received support from fellow players following Wednesday's incident.
"I'm really proud of the way that I handled it," she said. "I didn't allow the situation to take me out of my character or to lose my integrity as a person, and that's what really matters. I've gotten so much love and support from so many people and that's really what it's about, being able to come together and support."
Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff were among Townsend's most vocal advocates.
"Obviously, it's one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport," Osaka said. "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."
"Knowing Taylor personally, she's the opposite of that. She's one of the nicest people that I've ever met. Whenever I've had a tough moment on court, she's texting me, making sure, checking in on how I am," Gauff added. "So yeah, I really hate to see that. Maybe this is some of the first people hearing who Taylor Townsend is, and I don't want that to be the main focus of who she is, because she's a lot more than that. She's a mom. She's a great friend. She's a talented tennis player and a good person."
Ostapenko issued an apology for her on-court comments on Saturday, taking to Instagram to express her thoughts on the incident.
“Hi all—I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match," Ostapenko wrote. "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 a tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
Emotions were running high between Townsend and Ostapenko on Wednesday, but with her win, Townsend advanced to face either Anastasia Potapova or No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in the third round.