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Venus Williams has praised Taylor Townsend for the way she has handled the racism storm that exploded at the US Open this week.
Speaking after her women's doubles win alongside partner Leylah Fernandez, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion praised her fellow American's 'amazing' response to the incident.
Townsend, who is black, had an intense back and forth with Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko after beating her in straight sets on Wednesday, with her opponent attacking her for having 'no class' and 'no education' when they shook hands.
The world No. 26 has since denied her comments were racist, instead stressing that she was referencing tennis etiquette amid a dispute over a shot which clipped the net before she lost the point.
'It was a lot of drama,' Williams said. 'I thought Taylor handled it amazing. I really did.
'With her as a mom how she handled it, her son is watching. She handled it with class, a situation that wasn’t so classy. She moved on and won again. I'm rooting for her. She's a wonderful person. A great mom and I hope she can keep going.'
Venus Williams praised Taylor Townsend for her handling of the US Open's racism storm
Jelena Ostapenko told Townsend she had 'no class' and 'no education' after their match
After being accused of racism, Ostapenko initially rejected those allegations in her first response on social media, before she took to Instagram for a second time on Saturday to issue an apology.
'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,' she said in the apology.
Yet following her doubles victory on Saturday, Townsend said she was unaware of Ostapenko's post, while adding that she is yet to hear from her since the controversial end to their match.
'The fact of the matter is, like I said the other day, I’m still playing, so I don’t have time to be tapped in on what she’s got going on and what she says,' the 29-year-old explained, via The New York Post. 'I had a job to do today. Got it done in the doubles.'
'I have a goal while I’m here. I said it [Friday], just keeping the main thing the main thing, which is I’m here to continue to 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. So I haven’t seen anything. I didn’t know what she said. But I’m still here, so I’m glad that she has the time to be able to do that.'
When told about her online apology, Townsend continued about Ostapenko: 'That’s nice that she did that, that she apologized; that’s fine. That’s cool.
'At the end of the day, it’s a learning lesson for her. Like I said… you cannot push your expectations on other people. That’s ultimately what happened.
'She expected me to react a certain type of way; and I didn’t, and it infuriated her. Which led her to say things that are hurtful, that are belligerent, that are offensive, not only to me, but to the sport and to a whole culture of people that I try to do my best to represent the best that I can.'
Taylor Townsend says she still hasn't heard from Jelena Ostapenko since their US Open spat
Williams is not the first big name to have leapt to Townsend's defense in recent days, with two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka also offering her support.
Osaka, who is of black and Asian heritage, was quizzed on the controversy after her second-round US Open win over America's Hailey Baptiste on Thursday.
'Yeah, I saw that part obviously. It's been on the TV like every 15 minutes,' the Japanese star said when asked if she was aware of Ostapenko's tirade.
'I think obviously it's one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport. And granted, 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 or anything like that.'
