US Open 2025: Naomi Osaka Slams Jelena Ostapenko

JAKARTA – Former world number one Japanese tennis player, Naomi Osaka, has slammed Jelena Ostapenko for her harsh words toward American tennis player Taylor Townsend in the second round of the 2025 US Open.

Ostapenko, from Latvia, was seen arguing with Townsend on the sidelines after her 7-5, 6-1 defeat to the American on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, local time.

During the exchange, Ostapenko used offensive language such as "classless" and "uneducated" toward the 29-year-old. This immediately sparked widespread backlash among top tennis players.

Naomi Osaka is the latest player to react to Ostapenko's remarks. She called them the worst words a tennis player has ever spoken to an opponent.

"I think that's definitely one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a predominantly white sport," Osaka said after defeating Hailey Baptiste to advance to the third round.

The exchange of words was allegedly caused by Townsend's failure to apologize for a netball that earned her a point. This isn't actually a written rule in the laws of tennis, but simply a matter of sportsmanship.

Osaka then questioned whether a tennis player should apologize in such a situation. She said it's not required in a match at all.

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't care about anything. I certainly wouldn't care to the point where it affected me and made me so angry," Osaka said.

Ostapenko, who won the 2017 French Open, denied any racism in the Instagram post. Townsend herself said she didn't think there were any racial undertones in her opponent's words.

"I don't think it was that way, but there's also a stigma in our community about a lack of education. That's so far from the truth," Townsend said.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka told reporters that she had spoken to Ostapenko after the incident.

"I have to say she's a good person, but she can get out of control sometimes. She has some things to deal with and some things she's struggling with in her life," she said.