Tennis star Taylor Townsend apologizes for comments about Chinese food
American tennis star Taylor Townsend has apologized "from the bottom of my heart" for making disparaging comments about Chinese food."I just truly wanted to apologize. There's no excuse, there are no words. And for me, I just, I will be better," she said on Instagram.The 29-year-old, who is ranked world No. 1 in doubles, is in China for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals.She recently posted videos of local dishes including bullfrogs and turtles on Wednesday. She joked she would need to "talk to HR" about the quality of the food.But after facing a backlash online, Townsend took to Instagram again Wednesday to apologize."I just wanted to come on here and apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart," said Townsend, who said she understood how privileged she is as a professional athlete to be able to travel around the world and experience cultural differences."(It's) one of the things that I love so much about what I do, and I have had nothing but the most amazing experience in time here and the tournament," Townsend said. "Everyone has been so kind and so gracious. And the things that I said were not representative of that at all."Last month at the U.S. Open, Townsend got into a dispute with Jelena Ostapenko. She said the Latvian player told her she had "no education, no class" after their second-round match, which Townsend won.Ostapenko later apologized on social media, saying English is not her first language and that when she used the word "education" she meant tennis etiquette.A reporter had asked Townsend, who is Black, whether she thought there were racial undertones to what Ostapenko said on the court. Townsend later said it was "great that she went to social media and apologized."Townsend and the United States are scheduled to play Kazakhstan in Shenzen, China, on Sept. 18. She'll line up alongside McCartney Kessler for the potential doubles match, with the winner moving on to the semifinal.
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