Jelena Ostapenko has moved to address the controversy that followed her post-match comments about Taylor Townsend at the US Open. Townsend defeated Ostapenko in their match, and Ostapenko later said the American should have apologised for a net cord. That criticism escalated when Ostapenko described Townsend as having “no education” and “no class.”

Those words were interpreted by many observers, particularly in America, as carrying a racial undertone. Townsend was visibly shocked by the exchange and the story has become one of the dominant talking points of this year’s US Open, casting Ostapenko in an unfavourable light.

Ostapenko has issued a statement insisting her comment had no racial undertones and then offered additional remarks in an effort to calm the situation. “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,” she said. “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.”

Townsend has emerged as a prominent figure at the 2025 US Open in America and extended her run with a win over No 5 seed Mirra Andreeva. On court she reflected on the recent attention: “I’m really just proud that I kept the main thing the main thing,” she said. “I want to say thank you to everyone who supported me over these last 48 hours. It’s bigger than me. It’s about the message, it’s about the representation, it’s about being bold and being able to show up as yourself, and I did that.”

The episode drew comment from other high-profile players. “I think obviously it’s one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport,” who is through to the fourth round, where she will face Coco Gauff. “Granted, I know Taylor and I know how hard she’s worked and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that. If you are genuinely asking me about the history of Ostapenko, I don’t think that’s the craziest thing she has said. It was bad timing and the worst person she could have said that to. I don’t know if she knows the history of it in America and she will never say that again, but it’s just terrible. That was really bad.”

Ostapenko’s most recent statement acknowledges the hurt caused, but the controversy is likely to remain a defining moment from this US Open for her.

Taylor Townsend has turned a long, stop-start career into a striking return to the later stages of a major. The 29-year-old Chicago native, who won the junior Australian Open at 15 in 2012 and became the first American in 30 years to finish a season No. 1 in the girls’ rankings, beat No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2 to reach the round of 16.

“I wasn’t searching for anything, I wasn’t looking, trying to find answers,” Townsend said after the victory. “I had all the answers in here.”

Townsend’s path has been uneven. In 2012 the USTA told her to sit out both the US Open girls’ and women’s events because of her weight. Since then she has climbed into the Top 100 and fallen out of the Top 300 multiple times. She has reinvented herself, though, as a top-level doubles player: she is a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion and reached the mixed final last year with Donald Young. “Standing here today with Donald means the world to me because he’s been in my life forever,” she said.

Against Andreeva, Townsend kept control when her opponent threatened a second-set comeback, selecting when to attack and finishing key points. “I’m a totally different person than I was in 2019, and I think that that showed,” Townsend said of the match. “I was so confident and so sure of myself and what I was doing and how I was executing, that it didn’t matter if I hit the back fence, hit the bottom of the net, it didn’t matter. I just kept going.”

The crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium rallied behind her after a confrontation earlier in the tournament with Jelena Ostapenko, who had criticized Townsend’s behavior during a warm-up. Townsend said she did not know if Ostapenko’s comments had “racial overtones.”—”that’s something she can speak on.” “If my son were to see this interaction, how would he view it? I think he would be proud of the way that I handled the situation.” Ostapenko issued an apology on Saturday.

Townsend now faces Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday, a player who won their only previous match in 2017. “That’s what’s really cool about tennis in these moments—you’re able to reflect and look even at the mannerisms and how I carried myself then and now, you’ll be able to see it’s a different woman.”

Billie Jean King says Emma Raducanu has reason to be optimistic about her 2025 form despite a heavy US Open defeat. Raducanu was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the third round of the US Open, but she has shown more consistent form this season and her ranking has risen, currently sitting as the world No 34.

Raducanu is due back on tour with the British team for the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-final against Japan on September 18th. On Raducanu’s communication skills and profile, King observed: “I think it’s huge that you can speak the language of wherever you are.” She added: “Raducanu is very articulate as well, she’s very good at getting up and speaking, covering a lot of subjects. You can tell she thinks about a lot of things compared to a lot of the players.” King underlined Raducanu’s national commitment: “I think we’re really lucky to have her but she likes it, she likes playing for her country.” She concluded: “If I were her, I’d be pretty excited. She’s playing very well, and the main thing is she’s injury-free, her body’s healthy again.”

The British side is expected to include Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, and Jodie Anna Burrage, led by captain Anne Keothavong. Japan will be led by four-time Grand Slam Naomi Osaka, with Moyuka Uchijima, Ena Shibahara, Eri Hozumi, and Shuko Aoyama completing their team.

After New York, Raducanu struck a measured tone about progress. “I think you take a few steps forward, one step back, but I think overall I’m working and building towards good things,” the world No 36 analysed. “I’m just enjoying my tennis, for the most part. In the big scheme of things I’m working towards playing better and being a better tennis player, more complete overall and looking forward to going back to Asia. “I’ve never really played an Asia swing, so I hope this year I’ll be able to.”

Many of Raducanu’s defeats this season have come against the sport’s elite, including close losses to Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon and in Cincinnati, and a defeat by fifth seed Anna Anisimova in Canada. Her loss to Rybakina, who is the current world No 9 and has been ranked as high as world No 3, was another meeting with a top opponent who produced a clinical display to reach the US Open fourth round. “Yeah, big time,” Raducanu responded, when asked if her opponents have had to up their game this year against her. “I think when the very top play against me, they have a point to prove that they’re at the top for a reason.

“Every time I’ve played one of them they’ve shown that. While I’m improving, doing better, gaining maybe some more respect, I think the top have definitely raised their game.

“But I’ll take that as a compliment that they’ve decided to really lock in against me, but at the same time it does show I have a lot more work to do.”