American tennis player Taylor Townsend has apologised after facing a backlash over comments she made about Chinese food.
The 29-year-old described the food served at a buffet ahead of a tournament in Shenzhen, China, as the “craziest thing”.
Townsend, who was in the city for the Billie Jean King Cup finals, said she apologised “sincerely” for her comments.
In video posted on Instagram, the world’s top-ranked doubles player said: “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen … and people eating this.
“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 two out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.”
In an online backlash, she was criticised for not respecting the culture – and said in her apology she was “privileged” to be able to experience different parts of the world.
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In her apology, Townsend wrote: “I just wanted to come on here and apologise sincerely from the bottom of my heart.
“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 I love so much about what I do.
“I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here and in the tournament. Everyone has been so kind and so gracious and the things that I said are not representative of that at all.”
Last month, Townsend was involved in a fiery exchange with Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open in New York.
Ostapenko, from Latvia, was also seen pointing her finger at the American – who had clinched a 7-5 6-1 second-round victory.
