NEW YORK: Naomi Osaka said using words like “no education” and “no class” to criticize a Black tennis player were among the worst things to say as the debate over a heated row between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko raged on at the US Open on Thursday. Townsend, who is Black, overcame 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 in a tough second-round battle a day earlier. But the real tension came shortly after match point, when the pair verbally dueled at the net, with the Latvian repeatedly wagging her finger at the American.
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Townsend revealed a part of the exchange during her on-court interview, after which she said during her press conference that Ostapenko would have to answer if there were “racial undertones” to the altercation.
Ostapenko said on Instagram later that her anger stemmed from Townsend’s refusal to apologize after winning a point at a pivotal moment when her ball clipped the net and stayed in play, as she accused the American of being “disrespectful.”
Apologizing for winning a point with assistance from the net cord is a tradition that most players adhere to it, but they are not obliged to do so.
