After going viral for all the wrong reasons, Jelena Ostapenko has apologized for the post-match outburst she inflicted on fellow tennis star Taylor Townsend.
As reported, the Latvian competitor lost to the US player and launched into a shocking tirade, in which she labelled the winner as having “no class” and “no education.” A remark that some interpreted as racially coded.
Townsend expressed her shock and dismay, as did millions worldwide.
Now, Ostapenko is speaking up and out.
Full story below…
Taking to Instagram Stories, the 28-year-old apologized and pointed to language barriers as being partially to blame.
She wrote:
“I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match. 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.”
Concluding, she added:
“I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and a tennis player. Goodbye, New York and I look forward to being back next year.”
Ostapenko notably made no direct apology to Townsend.
Deflection at its finest. No accountability and ownership for her actions.
An apology doesn’t come with an excuse. The word education is universal. With that said, I call 🐂 💩
The word education is not universal. It has many meanings in different languages, not just how you view the word.
This woman was wrong on all accounts either way. And she should have apologized and not just simply say it has offended many off the courts. What about the person on the court?
White games never end. They stay gaslighting. Girl, you knew wtf you said. Apology not accepted.
PERIOD
She lost now, even though must be so hard for other player, since all the support was for Taylor.