"I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things that I love so much about what I do,"
"I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here ... and everyone has been so kind and so gracious. And the things that I said were not representative of that at all."
"So when I said education," Ostapenko wrote, "I was speaking only about what I believe [is] tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court."
Taylor Townsend, a 29-year-old top-ranked doubles player, encountered unfamiliar local dishes while at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China and posted criticism of items including bullfrogs, turtles, sea cucumbers and what she called "an animal lung" that was "sliced up" and on a skewer. The posts were removed. Townsend posted an Instagram Story apology, saying she understands her privilege to travel, has enjoyed her time, and that her comments did not represent the hospitality she experienced. Townsend previously was involved in a U.S. Open on-court exchange with Jelena Ostapenko, who later apologized, explaining English is not her native language and she meant tennis etiquette.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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