Jelena Ostapenko apologized for her Wednesday outburst during the U.S. Open.
The Latvian tennis player went off on American Taylor Townsend as they were shaking hands after the former was eliminated, 7-5, 6-1, from the women’s singles tournament.
Ostapenko, 28, said on Instagram after the match that she took issue with an apparent lack of an apology from Townsend after a shot clipped the top of the net but remained in play — also known as a net cord.
After the match, Townsend, 29, told ESPN that Ostapenko had told her she has “no class” and “no education and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.”
Ostapenko said Saturday that she didn’t come across as intended.
“Hi all — I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match,” she wrote on her Instagram 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 a tennis player. Goodbye New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
In a post-match press conference, Townsend chalked up the incident to “competition,” stating that there was “no history” between the two or “no beef on my side.”
“I didn’t back down because you’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect. If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter,” Townsend said. “I think that’s tennis, right? No matter what’s going on, it’s me versus you, but at the end of the day, we have to respect each other and respect what happens out on the court. It’s competition.”
In a series of Instagram story posts after the match, Ostapenko confirmed that she didn’t like Townsend’s non-apology, saying, “There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow.”
“If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants,” Ostapenko wrote. “In the beginning of the match all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline. The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at [the net] which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match.”
Townsend won her third-round match Friday night over No. 5 Mirra Andreeva to advance to the Round of 16, the second time she’s done so at the U.S. Open.
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