Naomi Osaka has criticised Jelena Ostapenko’s choice of words in her heated post-match altercation with Taylor Townsend at the US Open, calling them “one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport”. 

“It’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority White sport,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said. “I know Taylor and I know how hard she’s worked and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated,” she added.

Townsend defeated Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 in a tense second-round clash, but the spotlight quickly shifted to a verbal exchange at the net.