Taylor Townsend receives support after US Open confrontation - ESPN

Taylor Townsend said she has received support from fellow players after Wednesday's on-court heated exchange with Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open, when the Latvian accused her of being «disrespectful» and «uneducated.»

The American on Thursday said she had not heard from Ostapenko since their second-round singles battle, which ended with Ostapenko berating Townsend, who is Black, for not apologizing for a net cord and then using insulting language and questioning her intellect and character.

Townsend, the doubles world No. 1, met with the media Thursday after her first-round doubles win with partner Katerina Siniakova. Meanwhile, Ostapenko, who lost her first-round doubles match with partner Barbora Krejcikova on Thursday, skipped her own news conference, citing «medical reasons.»

«I've talked to a lot of people about it,» Townsend said. «Honestly, people have come up to me, I haven't enticed any sort of conversation, and everyone that I've spoken to, who saw anything, they obviously said that it was disrespectful. Even the mannerisms of her hand pointing at my face, like I'm a child, and just the things that she was saying.

»Everyone said that it was bad behavior. And it was also very hypocritical. She's not known to have sportsmanship, doesn't have the best code of conduct. So to try and call me out on something that you don't even do yourself is crazy. I spoke to several players about it, but I'm not that kind of person to keep drama going. I'm very clear as to where I stand and how I feel about the situation."

Townsend reiterated that she felt she had «handled the situation very gracefully.»

«I'm really proud of the way that I handled it,» she said. «I didn't allow the situation to take me out of my character or to