\"\ufeffIt\u2019s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport,\u201d the four-time Grand Slam champion said. \u201cI know Taylor and I know how hard she\u2019s worked and I know how smart she is, so she\u2019s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Townsend defeated 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 in a tense second-round clash, but the spotlight quickly shifted to a verbal exchange at the net. Ostapenko, visibly agitated, repeatedly wagged her finger at Townsend, who later hinted at possible \u201cracial undertones\u201d in their exchange during her press conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ostapenko later explained on Instagram that her anger stemmed from Townsend\u2019s refusal to apologise after a crucial net-cord point and insisted she had \u201cnever been racist\u201d in her life. She accused Townsend of being \u201cdisrespectful\u201d in that moment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father and has been an outspoken voice against racial injustice, particularly through her support for the Black Lives Matter movement, said the words Ostapenko used were in poor taste and poorly timed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re like genuinely asking me about the history of Ostapenko, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the craziest thing she\u2019s said. I\u2019m going to be honest,\u201d Osaka said with a smile. \u201cI think it\u2019s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to. And I don\u2019t know if she knows the history of it in America. I know she\u2019s never going to say that ever again in her life. But yeah, it was just terrible. That\u2019s just really bad.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But Osaka, who was born to a Japanese mother and Haitian father and has been an outspoken voice against racial injustice, particularly through her support for the Black Lives Matter movement, said the words Ostapenko used were in poor taste and poorly timed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI definitely wouldn\u2019t care to the point where it would affect me that much that I get very angry,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s up to the person whether they apologise or not, but if it\u2019s really close, I can see why they don\u2019t apologise.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n