Jelena Ostapenko fires back at Taylor Townsend after heated US Open exchange

Following a heated exchange with Taylor Townsend at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, Jelena Ostapenko fired back. The Latvian star posted a message on her Instagram story about the situation.

Townsend took down Ostapenko in two sets – 7-5 and 6-1 – to advance to the third round of the U.S. Open. The two shook hands afterward, but Ostapenko appeared to say something that got Townsend’s attention, and that’s when the exchange began.

Ostapenko said the issue stemmed from something that happened before the match. She said players should warm up on the baseline, and she also cited a moment during the match when Townsend had a net ball and didn’t apologize.

“Just a small update about the match,” Ostapenko wrote. “Today after the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding momen [sic] and didn’t say sorryt [sic], but her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all. There are some rules in tennis which most of hte players follow and it was the 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.

“In the beginning of the match all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline,” she continued. “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.”

Additionally, Ostapenko later added she received messages alleging racism, which she denied. Her issue, she said, was about how she thinks players should carry themselves prior to and during matches.

“Wow how many messages I received that I am a racist,” Ostapenko wrote. “I was NEVER racist in my life and 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.

“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 to play in the US and US OPEN, but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way.”

Taylor Townsend initially trailed by three games in the first set before rallying to win, 7-5. When she faced that deficit, she stayed the course and opted not to say anything despite how well Jelena Ostapenko was playing. From there, Townsend was able to kick things into gear and win the match to advance to the third round.