Tennis stars Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko had an epic faceoff at the 2025 US Open.
Townsend, 28, shook hands with Ostapenko, also 28, after winning their match at the New York City tournament on Wednesday, August 27. However, things took a quick turn when the athletes appeared to get into a heated confrontation on the court.
According to ESPN footage, Ostapenko pointed at Townsend, who congratulated her opponent on a “good match.” Audio of their interaction couldn’t be heard — but the crowd quickly broke out in boos.
Townsend shut down any drama by walking away and shaking hands with the match’s officials before waving to the crowd, who started cheering loudly for her win.
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“It’s a competition, people get upset when they lose,” Townsend later explained. “Some people say bad things. She told me I have no class and no education and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S. I’m looking forward to it.”
Keep scrolling for everything we know so far:
Who Is Taylor Townsend?
The Chicago native is currently ranked No. 1 in the Women’s Tennis Association in doubles and has two doubles titles — 2024 Wimbledon Championships and 2025 Australian Open — under her belt.
Who Is Jelena Ostapenko?
The Latvian tennis player is ranked No. 3 in the Women’s Tennis Association in doubles. She’s won one Grand Slam title in singles throughout her career.
What Happened Between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko?
Townsend won Wednesday’s match and went to shake Ostapenko’s hand when things went south. The Athletic reported that Ostapenko told Townsend to apologize for a shot that hit the top of the net. When Townsend did not apologize, Ostapenko allegedly said she had “no education” multiple times. Townsend declared that Ostapenko should “learn how to take a loss better” before walking away.
What Did Taylor Townsend Say?
Townsend addressed the conversation while speaking with a reporter after the match.
“I beat her in Canada — outside the U.S. I beat her in New York — [inside] the U.S. So let’s see what else she has to say,” Townsend added.
The athlete further discussed their confrontation in a postgame press conference, noting that she was not going to “tolerate disrespect” from a fellow athlete.
“There’s never been any history. I mean, I don’t know how she feels about me, but there’s no beef on my side. She told me that I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the U.S,” Townsend explained. “I said, ‘I’m excited. Bring it.’ [I’ve] never been the one to back down from anything like that, but I just thought that it was really interesting.”
Elsewhere in the press conference Townsend explained why she “didn’t back down” from Ostapenko in the heat of the moment.
“You’re not going to insult me, especially after I carried myself a certain type of way with nothing but respect,” she said. “If I show respect to you, I expect respect as well. That’s just the fact of the matter.”
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What Did Jelena Ostapenko Say?
Ostapenko wrote via her Instagram Story that Townsend was “very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry at all.”
“There are some rules in tennis that most of the players follow and it was [the] first time that this happened to me on tour,” she added. “If she plays in her homeland it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants.”
