THE US OPEN star at the centre of a racism storm sparked backlash for her comments about Chinese food.
American Taylor Townsend reached the fourth round at her home Grand Slam.
But it was her second-round match against No25 seed Jelena Ostapenko that hit headlines.
The Latvian was accused by Townsend of telling her she had “no class” and “no education”.
It was then suggested Ostapenko threatened retribution next time they faced off “outside the US” as tensions boiled over at the net.
But now Townsend’s own comments have caused a row.
The American, 29, is in China, representing her country in the Billie Jean King Cup.
And before taking to the court in Shenzhen, she posted a video on Instagram criticising the local food.
Townsend was appalled by the speciality dishes including sea cucumber, turtle and bullfrog.
She filmed the sea cucumber and asked: “What the hell is this?” before threatening to “talk to HR”.
Another clip was captioned: “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen… and people eating this.”
And in a final post, the world No1 doubles star said: “I’m honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet.
“As I go back and I look… these people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs.
“Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils and stuff?
“And the fact that it’s all stewed up with chillies, peppers, and onions.
“Like oh, you really made this a dish. All in all, I’d give this like a solid 2 out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.”
The shock rant led to an outpouring of reaction on social media, with one labelling her attitude “super ignorant”.
One said: “This is very offensive, to mock other people’s cultural food.”
Another wrote: “Won’t defend Taylor here, clearly offensive and shows a lack of understanding there are different cultures other than USA.”
A third added: “Taylor Townsend calling Chinese people ‘these people’ while making fun of/being disgusted at Chinese food and delicacies. Is that racist?”
A fourth typed: “I’ve watched stories on Taylor Townsend IG. It was disgusting. DO NOT MOCK OTHER’S CULTURE!! If you don’t want to eat something, just leave it. Nobody forced you eating them.”
And a final user replied: “Oh Taylor… all the time I’ve spent fighting people on your behalf and you turn around and post this ignorant s***.”
‘THERE’S NO EXCUSE’
Following the backlash, Townsend posted a video online to apologise “sincerely from the bottom of my heart”.
She said: “I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things that I love so much about what I do.
“I have had noting but the most amazing experiences and time here. The tournament and everyone has been so kind and so gracious. The things that I said were not representative of that at all.
“I just wanted to truly apologise. There’s no excuse. There’s no words. For me, I will be better. I’m really thankful to my country to be able to represent them.”
The social media storm comes just three weeks after the incident with Ostapenko following Townsend’s 7-5 6-1 win at the US Open.
Naomi Osaka leapt to Townsend’s defence, especially after the “terrible” education comments given the connotations for black Americans.
The four-time Major winner said: “You shouldn’t say those things in the United States.
“Obviously, it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport.”
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Townsend refused to label Ostapenko’s words as racist or having racial undertones.
Ostapenko – who was booed off court – insisted she has “never been racist in my life”.
But in a later statement, she apologised and clarified her comments.
The former French Open champion said: “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.”
Townsend was glad to call out Ostapenko’s “bulls***” and stand up for people of colour.
She added: “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.
“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.”
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