Imagine if Ben Shelton chided someone for wearing bare sleeves. Or Aryna Sabalenka took issue with another player’s quantity of tattoos. Or if Carlos Alcaraz scolded someone for short hair. 

That was the equivalent of the scene Wednesday at the U.S. Open when Jeļena Ostapenko lost to Taylor Townsend, shook hands at the net and dressed her opponent down for a purported lack of etiquette. 

Ostapenko is a colorful player. She is a former major champion, having won the 2017 Roland Garros. She is also not known for her sportsmanship or her decorum, which is putting it mildly. Half of the entertainment from her matches comes from her arguments about the accuracy of the machine line calling, and when she goes to the net and does a drive-by handshake, neglecting to so much as look her opponent in the eye. 

All of which gave an already ugly situation an overlay of irony. After losing to Townsend, 7–5, 6–1, Ostapenko didn’t let go of her opponent’s hand and told her, in so many words, that she was both lacking in grace and lacking in education. Her big grievances? Townsend began the warmup at the net, as she usually does (this has been a signature of hers for years). She also scolded Townsend for not fake apologizing after a net-cord winner. A silly bit of etiquette because no player is ever sorry to have won a point, even if luck was involved. 

Several points made this all the more disconcerting. One, it was Ostapenko who took a dubious bathroom break that had Townsend skipping rope to keep fresh. (If there was any breach of etiquette, that was it.) Two, at Townsend’s home major, it stood to reason that the crowd would be on her side. Three, this controversy took away from one of the better wins of Townsend’s career. Best known as an expert doubles player, she played terrifically against Ostapenko, beating a seated opponent. What a pity that the discussion was not about Townsend’s lefty, attacking tennis, but about the dos and don’ts of tennis etiquette. 

Townsend was dignified as always in her interview, essentially saying flatly what happened, but giving Ostapenko some measure of grace for the heat of the moment. Ostapenko plays doubles on Thursday and may be summoned for an interview to provide her account. Tennis being heavy into irony, it’s entirely possible that Ostapenko and Townsend could meet again in the women’s doubles final. Watch for the handshake.

Meanwhile, Townsend advances in the women’s singles draw, set to face Mirra Andreeva in the third round. If she wins that match, it might well mark the biggest win of her career. 

More Tennis on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jeļena Ostapenko’s Poor Sportsmanship at U.S. Open Overshadowed a Career Win for Taylor Townsend.