Overview

• Three days after a heated exchange at the net, Jelena Ostapenko posted an Instagram statement offering an apology for some remarks and noting that English is not her first language.
• She said she used the word “education” to refer to what she considers tennis etiquette and acknowledged her wording may have hurt people beyond the court.
• Taylor Townsend told ESPN that Ostapenko called her lacking in class and education and added a warning about what would happen outside the United States.
• Naomi Osaka publicly criticized the comments, describing them as particularly harmful to a Black player in a largely white sport, according to dpa reporting.
• Townsend has advanced further at the US Open, and the coverage so far does not report any disciplinary action related to the incident.