Jelena Ostapenko lost to Taylor Townsend 7-5, 6-1 in the U.S. Open second round and reacted angrily after the match. Ostapenko held Townsend's hand longer than usual and argued courtside as the crowd booed. She posted now-deleted Instagram messages claiming she told Townsend she had been “very disrespectful” for winning a net-ball point “in a very deciding moment and didn't say sorry.” Tennis etiquette often prompts a player to acknowledge a fortunate net-cord point with an apologetic gesture. Ostapenko has a history of on-court meltdowns; Aryna Sabalenka said she advised Ostapenko to handle struggles more maturely.
She hopped on Instagram shortly after the match and said, in a now-deleted series of posts, that she told Townsend she had been "very disrespectful" after she'd won a point on a net ball "in a very deciding moment and didn't say sorry." In tennis, it's typical for a player who benefits from a lucky bounce off the net cord to put their hands up in apology for their opponent to see it.
Journalist Ben Rothenberg asked fellow player Aryna Sabalenka, herself no stranger to on-court meltdowns, about the incident, and she said she spoke to Ostapenko and attempted to gently advise her to chill out. "She just sometimes can lose control. She has some things in life to face, and some struggles. I was just trying to help her to face it more in a mature way," Sabalenka said. "I really hope that one day she will figure it herself and she will handle it much better."
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