Taylor Townsend defeated fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2 to reach the US Open fourth round for the first time since 2019. Townsend is a 29-year-old unseeded singles player who is also half of the top-ranked women's doubles team and a former junior world No. 1. A heated postmatch exchange with Jelena Ostapenko generated widespread attention, with Townsend framing the moment as about representation and showing up authentically. Townsend welcomed any attention that brings fans to the sport, noted stigma about perceptions of education in her community, and received public support from players including Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka.
“It's bigger than me,” she said on the court after the match. “It's about the message, it's about the representation, it's about being bold and being able to show up as yourself and I did that tonight. You guys saw the real Taylor Townsend tonight.”
“If I'm someone who can draw huge crowds into the stadiums as a name that can bring people to come and buy tickets and support the game, then that's a crown that I'll gladly wear,” Townsend said. “Whatever that it is, whatever type of attention that it brought, it's doing the right things, which is bring people to see the sport and bringing people in to support and that's what it's all about.”
“That has been a stigma in our community of being 'not educated' and all of the things, when it's the furthest thing from the truth.”
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