Jelena Ostapenko apologizes to Taylor Townsend over ‘no class’ remarks at US Open which led to racism allegations

JELENA Ostapenko has apologized for claiming Taylor Townsend had ‘no education’ during a fiery on-court row.

After she was eliminated from the US Open second round last Wednesday following a 7-5 6-1 defeat, the Latvian confronted Townsend at the net and started finger pointing.

As fans on Court 11 started booing, Ostapenko, 28, felt Townsend should have apologised for a lucky net cord – and she was unhappy with her opponent’s “disrespectful” warm-up routine.

It was alleged by Townsend, who is black, that Ostapenko had said she had “no class” and “no education”.

Townsend, the No.1 doubles player in the world, also accused the Eastern European of threatening retribution the next time they meet “outside the US.”.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka branded Ostapenko’s comments as “terrible”, saying: You shouldn’t say those things in the United States.

Osaka, 27, added that “obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport”.

Ostapenko has a history of drama and controversy and clashing with rivals but she denied a charge of possible racism towards Chicago-born Townsend.

And on Saturday, just as she was packing up to leave New York City, she spoke out on social media to say it was all related to “tennis etiquette” but academia.

In a message posted on her Instagram Story, the former French Open champion said, “Hi all – I wanted to apologise for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match.

“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.”

Townsend says she feels vindicated for calling out hypocrite Ostapenko’s “bulls***” following their Flushing Meadows dispute – and standing up for “people of color”.

The American tennis ace has earned significant support from fans and seen her Instagram following double in size to 267,000.

Townsend, who plays 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova in the last 16 on Sunday, said: “I’ve gotten so much love and support from so many people and that’s really what it’s about.

“It really brought some really cool live light and viewership to the US Open. I don’t think that the people behind the scenes are too upset.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people about it. Anyone and everyone I’ve spoken to, they obviously said that it was disrespectful.

“Even the mannerisms of her hand pointing at my face, like I’m a child. It was bad behaviour and it was also very hypocritical.

“I mean she’s not known to have sportsmanship. You don’t have the best code of conduct.

“So to try and call me out on something that you don’t even do yourself is crazy. I’m not the type of person to keep drama going.

“It’s okay to be unapologetically yourself. It’s okay to stand up for yourself. It’s okay to stand up and call people out for the bulls.

“You know, because sometimes, and I feel like in society, especially people of colour, we are expected to be silenced.

“Or sometimes there are times where we have to decide and be very strategic as to when we speak up.

“In these types of moments, it’s important for me to speak up, not only for myself, but for my culture.

“Integrity is very important to me. That’s something that I preach, even to my son.”