Jelena Ostapenko has apologized for her comments to American tennis player Taylor Townsend that sparked a racism debate that has overshadowed the US Open.
Townsend, who is black, and Ostapenko, who is from Latvia, had an intense back and forth after Townsend won in straight sets earlier this week, with Ostapenko telling the American she has ‘no class’ and ‘no education.’
Ostapenko denied the comments were racist and has now issued an apology on Instagram.
Without naming Townsend, she wrote: ‘Hi all – I wanted to apologize 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.’
Her apology came after Townsend’s mom accused Ostapenko of making a racial comment at her daughter.
Jelena Ostapenko has apologized for her words to Taylor Townsend that sparked a race debate
‘My reaction as a Black person who was Black tennis player who has experienced it, I know exactly what she was saying,’ Sheila Townsend told Palm Beach Post.
‘It was a racial comment what she was saying. What does her education have to do with anything that happened in the tennis match? It didn’t have anything to do with the match itself. So that’s something she must be feeling all along.
‘I understand in the heat of the competition, as a person who was a competitive tennis player too, if her comment was about her play, then it’s one thing. But it was not directed at her play.
‘It’s not the first time with her poor sportsmanship when she has lost. But has she said to another white person about her education? Has she pointed her finger at a white player she may have lost to? I haven’t seen it and I’ve been watching her as long as they’ve been playing.’
Until now, while denying her words were racist, Ostapenko had doubled down on her fury at Townsend, who she accused of disrespectful conduct.
‘There are some rules in tennis and unfortunately when the crowd is with you, you can’t use it in disrespectful way to your opponent,’ Ostapenko said earlier in the week on Instagram.
‘Unfortunately for me coming from such a small country I don’t have that huge support and a chance to play in homeland. I always loved to play in the US and US Open but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way.’
In a separate and later-deleted social media post, Ostapenko added: ‘She was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry, but her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all.’
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