Townsend-Ostapenko ends in heated net exchange

NEW YORK -- US Open opponents Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko got into a face-to-face argument on the Court 11 sideline right after their second-round match ended Wednesday.

"She told me I have no class, no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S.," Townsend, who is from Chicago, said after her 7-5, 6-1 victory over 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko, who is from Latvia.

After the two players met at the net for a postmatch handshake, they stayed near each other instead of going their separate ways, as players usually do. The 25th-seeded Ostapenko wagged a finger at Townsend as they spoke.

"I mean, it's competition," Townsend said. "People get upset when they lose."

Added Townsend: "When she was playing well, I didn't say anything. That just shows class."

When they finally stopped talking to each other, Townsend went over to the stands and egged on the partisan crowd, waving her arm overhead as the noise from spectators only grew louder.

After things had calmed down, Townsend noted during her on-court interview that she had beaten Ostapenko on another occasion -- their career head-to-head series was tied at 1-all before Wednesday -- and said: "So let's see what else she has to say."

During one extended trip to the locker room by Ostapenko while the match had still been going on, Townsend pulled out a jump rope and used it while there was a delay in the action.

Ostapenko addressed the situation on her Instagram story after the match, saying she took exception to Townsend not apologizing for a net ball and how she handled their prematch warmup.

"Today after the match I told my opponent that 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," Ostapenko wrote. "There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was first time ever that this happened to me on tour. If she plays in her homeland it doesn't mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants."

She continued, "In the beginning of the match all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline. The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at then which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match."

Ostapenko has gotten into kerfuffles with opponents during matches before, including in 2021 when she lost to Alja Tomljanovic at Wimbledon. Tomljanovic accused Ostapenko of lying about needing to leave the court for a medical timeout to address an abdominal issue.

Townsend recently rose to No. 1 in the WTA doubles rankings. But this is her first time reaching the third round in singles at a Grand Slam tournament since 2023.

In singles, Townsend is No. 139. She is the lowest-ranked American woman to beat a past Grand Slam champion in singles at a major since Kristie Ahn defeated -- guess who? -- Ostapenko at the 2019 US Open.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.