By Edward G. Robinson III
AFRO Sports Editor
Taylor Townsend recently followed the advice of former first lady Michelle Obama and many of our mothers and grandmothers: When the opposition stoops low, rise above their insensitivity or–in this case– foolishness.
Faced with indefensible, perhaps racist, remarks from her opponent in the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championship on Aug. 27, Townsend responded with maturity and intelligence, before walking away.
“The thing that I’m most proud of is that I let my racket talk,” said Townsend, the 29-year-old Black woman who is the No. 1 doubles player in the world and is ranked No. 139 in singles on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour.
Townsend’s racket and skill had a lot to say on Aug. 27, helping her advance to the third round with a 7-5, 6-1 upset victory over No. 25 ranked Jelena Ostapenko, who lashed out at her opponent at the end of the match. Townsend spoke on the exchange during a press conference after the match.
After capturing the final game 40-love, Townsend approached Ostapenko at the net, her hand extended and said, “Good match.”
To her surprise, Ostapenko returned the gesture with a testy remark, prompting Townsend to tell her opponent she needed to learn how to take “an L,” in other words– lose with grace.
Ostapenko voiced displeasure with an earlier play where a shot clipped the net and resulted in a point for Townsend.
Tennis etiquette dictates that a player acknowledge the accidental net clip with a sign of apology to the opponent. It was a gesture Ostapenko expected, but there is no rule to enforce this tradition and thus no violation.
“I don’t have to do anything,” Townsend said, when the issue was raised between the two players after the match.
Many had questions. “Why was this woman ruining her moment?” “Why was she pointing in Townsend’s face?”
As Court 11 filled with cheer, many fans sporting their university colors and enjoying HBCU Day at the U.S. Open, the verbal spat heightened.
“She told me I have no education, no class and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the US,” Townsend said, in a press conference after the match. “I said, ‘I’m excited, bring it.’”
The two players had met before in both singles and doubles matches. Townsend, winner of their last meeting, said there was “no beef” between the two.
Aside from her tantrum over the net point, Ostapenko also balked at Townsend’s choice to begin warm-ups at the net instead of the baseline.
“Taylor has always warmed up at the net since juniors,” tennis champ Coco Gauff said during a press conference. “And it’s not against the rules.”
No. 3-ranked Gauff, who has advanced to the second week of this year’s final major, defended her friend.
“I really hate to see that maybe this is the first time people are hearing who Taylor Townsend is,” Guaff said. “And I don’t want that to be the main focus of who she is. She’s a lot more than that. She’s a mom, she’s a great friend and a talented tennis player. And a good person.”
Townsend, a native of Chicago, is a veteran on tour who entered the sport as a youth, a junior champion who rose to No. 1 in the world.
She joined the Women’s Tennis Association as a professional in 2012 and has blossomed into a phenomenal doubles player, winning 10 career titles, including the Australian Open this season. She reached the third round at this year’s U.S. Open, dropping a disappointing 1-6, 7-6 (15-13), 6-3 loss to Barbora Krejcikova.
Her match against Ostapenko is an example of how she continues to grow as a singles player. She’s a lefty with a powerful forehand and knack for shotmaking. She rallied in the first set against Ostapenko and demonstrated her toughness.
Count Townsend among the new generation of Black tennis stars, one who follows in the footsteps of Althea Gibson, Zina Garrison, Serena and Venus Williams.
“I’m really proud of myself for the way that I fought,” Townsend said. “I’m proud of myself for the way I was able to be mentally tough…those are the moments in the past, if I reflect back that would have shaken me or gotten me off my game. Today I was rock solid.”
Ostapenko, a native of Latvia, skipped the post-match press conference but later commented on social media accusation of racism:
“I was never racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world, for me it doesn’t matter where you come from. There are some rules and unfortunately when the crowd is with you, you can’t use it in disrespectful way to your opponent.”
“I always loved to play in the US and the U.S. Open, but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way,” said Ostapenko.
To be clear, Townsend never accused her opponent of racism, though this type of sleight-of-hand remark is what Black women often face in sports. Serena and Venus certainly experienced their share of ignorant comments. Sometimes you scream back. Other times you have to allow others to respond on your behalf, take the high road and resist responding.
“I can’t speak on what her intentions were,” Townsend said. “I can only speak on how I handled the situation. And how I handled it is: someone who was upset about the outcome that occurred. You lost and you’re upset about that. Saying I don’t have any education and I have no class, I don’t really take that personally because I know that it’s so far from the truth.”
Ostapenko has since apologized for her remarks, but many tennis fans have brushed off the apology as too little, too late.
Townsend, mother to four year-old Adyn Aubrey, is a shining example of Black women who have returned to the court after entering motherhood. Though her time in the U.S. Open’s singles competition came to a close on Aug. 31 in a match against Barbora Krejcikova, Townsend has continued her race to the top on the doubles side of the competition. On Sept. 2 Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez, were defeated by Townsend and her doubles partner, Katerina Siniakova.