Jelena Ostapenko received a warm reception from US Open fans as she returned to the court less than 24 hours after her extraordinary outburst towards America’s Taylor Townsend sparked a racism storm.
The Latvian star, who has become notorious for her bad temper, was embroiled in yet another spat when she took aim at Townsend for having ‘no education and no class’ after her 7-5, 6-1 loss at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.
Following the shocking rant towards her black opponent, Ostapenko has been forced to deny accusations of racism on social media, instead stressing that she ‘respects all nations of people in the world’ and was by all means justified in her criticism.
Amid the controversy surrounding her altercation with Townsend, she returned to the court on Thursday for her first-round women’s doubles match alongside Czechia teammate Barbora Krejčíková.
Despite her fiery attack on a home player in New York, Ostapenko surprisingly avoided any boos as she walked out alongside Krejčíková, with some in the crowd even cheering her name when she was introduced before the match.
The pair are taking on No 11 seeds Timea Babos (Hungary) and Luisa Stefani (Brazil) for a place in the second round.
Jelena Ostapenko is back out at the US Open for the first time since sparking a racism storm
In the wake of her victory on Wednesday, Townsend revealed to ESPN: ‘She told me I have no class, no education and to see what happens when we get outside the US.
‘So, I’m looking forward to it: I beat her in Canada, outside the US, so let’s see what else she has to say… it’s competition, people get upset when they lose, some people say bad things.’
Shortly after, Ostapenko revealed she is being accused of racism after her dispute with Townsend. ‘Wow how many messages I received that I am a racist,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘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.’
The trigger for their astonishing bust-up seemed to be when Townsend failed to give the conventional apology when one of her shots clipped the top of the net before she won the point.
‘You have to say sorry,’ Ostapenko said after her defeat. ‘No I don’t have to say sorry,’ replied Townsend.
The latter was also asked if she believed there was any racial undertones to Ostapenko’s comments.
‘That’s something that you’re going to have to ask her,’ she said. ‘I didn’t take it in that way, but also that has been a stigma in our community of being not educated and all of the things when it’s the furthest thing from the truth.’
Ostapenko told Taylor Townsend she has ‘no education and no class’ after her single’s loss
Townsend continued: ‘I can’t speak on what her intentions were… saying I have no education and no class, I don’t really take that personally, because I know that it’s so far from the truth…. whether it had racial undertones or not, that’s something she can speak on.’
On Thursday, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka hinted that off-court personal issues were behind the rant that left Ostapenko forced to deny claims of racism, adding that she hopes her fellow Eastern European will ‘one day figure herself’ out.
‘I actually spoke to Jelena after the match,’ said the Belarusian. ‘During our conversation, I didn’t know what happened. I have to say that she’s nice, she just sometimes can lose control. She has some things in life to face and some struggles.
‘I was just trying to help her to face it more in a mature way, to settle down and be someone she could speak to and just let it go.
‘I think she sometimes can lose control over her emotions, which is pretty tough.
‘I really hope one day she will figure herself out and handle it much better.’
