It has been a rough couple of days online for Latvian tennis player Jelena Ostapenko, who received a whole load of smoke from Black Twitter after she told American tennis player Taylor Townsend that she was uneducated and had no class. Now the tennis pro has apologized for what she said during that heated exchange with Townsend and explained herself…but Black Twitter isn’t going.
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On Saturday (Aug. 30), Ostapenko used her Instagram story to give a public apology for her outburst, but did not mention Townsend directly in an Instagram story that read:
“Hi all—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. I appreciate the support as I continue to learn and grow as a person and a tennis player. Goodbye, New York. I look forward to being back next year. Jelena.”
The poor tennis etiquette that Ostapenko is referring to is Townsend not apologizing after her ball hit the net tape and went over to the other side. However, there is no written rule in Tennis to apologize after this happens, according to AP News.
Although Ostapenko tried to explain herself and justify her choice of words, Black Twitter is not feeling her apology in the slightest:
“So you apologize to everyone but the person you verbally assaulted? Make it make sense,” commented one user in the replies.
“This is the least apologetic statement? Who approved this? And saying “English isn’t my first language” has nothing to do with anything here,” wrote another.
“This is not an apology letter to Townsend. This is an excuse to prevent more smoke,” commented another user.
One user even used a GIF of actor Denzel Washington slamming a door to imply that they refuse to hear Ostapenko’s apology:
As for Townsend, after the post was read out to her at a press conference on Saturday, she responded in a way that was just as classy as her response on the court.
“We have to keep in mind that it’s competition,” she said. “We’re playing a sport, and you know, you can’t get upset if someone doesn’t do something you want them to do… When we get our emotions wrapped up in things, is where we get our feelings hurt, and I think that that’s ultimately what happened, so it’s great that she went to social media and apologized, but I hope that from this she can take that you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.”
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