On Thursday, August 27, we reported on the heated exchange between American women’s tennis player Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia after their match at the US Open on August 27. It’s hard to hear what was said between the two tennis players over the noise from a booing crowd, but users on Black Twitter didn’t hesitate to call Ostapenko racist after Townsend revealed she was told she had no class and was uneducated by the Latvian tennis player.
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However, if you still want to know what really went down on that court, a lip-reader on TikTok has taken the time to decode what exactly was said between the two tennis pros. TikTok creator, Jackie (@Tismejackieg), is a deaf creator who makes many videos decoding conversations between celebrities for curious fans. Before the video begins, Jackie adds that lip-reading is not a reliable form of communication, so what she’s interpreting is all alleged.
First, Townsend tells her opponent, “Good match,” but when her opponent says nothing in return, Townsend continues, “That is too much. You need to learn how to take the L.”
“No, I don’t have to do anything,” Ostapenko responds. “When we play on this court in the U.S., that is how we play. Okay? We will see how well you are with little education or class, and you are the worst, disrespectful player… And you have no education. You have no education. You have no education, seriously.”
At this point, Jackie switches the clip used so that she can translate the classy response Townsend gave to Ostapenko’s heated rant.
“Take an L instead of faking like you have it. That’s okay. You can say whatever you want to say, but you need to learn how to take a loss better. Thank you so much. Great job. Great play.”
Like many of the comments, TikTok creator Jackie praised Townsend for taking the high road rather than stooping down to Ostapenko’s petty level.
“Taylor handled this perfectly. I’d love to see a future when racism is an instant disqualification from professional sports and everything really,” one user wrote in the comments.
“Ostapenko is a disgrace! That is not the type of role model kids want to see. Her behaviour needs to be called out, and she needs to be cancelled,” commented another user.
Another user couldn’t feign their surprise at the interaction between the women, “Racism in tennis. In other news, water is wet.”
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