Ostapenko has accused Townsend of having \"no education and no class\" in a fiery post-match exchange at Flushing Meadows after losing to the American 7-5 6-1 in the second round.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Tension between the pair escalated after a net cord went in Townsend's favour during a 7-5, 6-1 second-round win - and 25th seed Ostapenko accused her of not apologising.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The pair had a curt handshake after Townsend clinched victory before Latvian Ostapenko made a comment at the net. Both players continued to express their views in an animated argument at Ostapenko's chair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Later at a press conference, Townsend said, \"She told me I have no education, no class, and to see what happens if we play each other outside of the US.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ostapenko now took to Instagram to explain her side while addressing her behaviour and wrote, \"I wanted to apologise for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match.\"<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"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,\" she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Following her doubles win alongside partner Katerina Siniakova on Saturday, Townsend told reporters she had still not heard from Ostapenko personally but she welcomed the public apology.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"That's nice that she did that, that she apologised. That's fine. That's cool. At the end of the day, I think that it's a learning lesson for her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Following her doubles win alongside partner Katerina Siniakova on Saturday, Townsend told reporters she had still not heard from Ostapenko personally but she welcomed the public apology.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\"I had a job to do today. Got it done in the doubles. Like I said, this is part of it, right, being able to disconnect from whatever is happening on the outside, because I have a goal while I\u2019m here. I said it last night, just keeping the main thing the main thing, which is I\u2019m here to continue to grow and grow as a player and play my best tennis and put that on display. Anything that gets in the way of that has got to go,\" Towsend said in post game press conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n