After suffering a defeat against Taylor Townsend in the second round of the US Open 2025, Jelena Ostapenko told Townsend that she had “no class” and “no education.” On Saturday, Ostapenko issued an apology, saying her comments stemmed from English not being her first language.

The two players had a contentious exchange post-match, with Ostapenko expressing anger over Townsend, a Black American, not apologizing for a net cord that occurred during play.

“Yeah, I mean, you know, it’s competition. People get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things. She told me I have no class, I have no education…”
(Translation: She’s implying she feels mistreated during competition and comments on my performance.)

Ostapenko then took to Instagram, accusing Townsend of being disrespectful after the match due to a net ball during a critical moment. She stated that Townsend’s behavior was unacceptable regardless of her nationality.

In her apology, Ostapenko stated: “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…”

Townsend, on the other hand, has continued her impressive run, defeating the No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva to advance further in the tournament, highlighting her momentum after overcoming Ostapenko.