New York: Naomi Osaka said that the use of words like “no education” and “no class” to criticize a black tennis player was among the worst things to say, while the debate raged on a row animated between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open on Thursday.
Townsend, which is black, overcome the champion of the 2017 Open of France Ostapenko 7-5 6-1 in a difficult battle in the second round a day earlier, but the real tension came shortly after the match point when the pair clashed verbally on the net, with the Latton going up repeatedly his finger of the American.
Townsend revealed part of the exchange during her interview on the field, after which she declared at a press conference that Ostapenko should answer if there were “racial nuances” to the altercation.
Ostapenko said on Instagram later that his anger came from Townsend’s refusal to apologize after winning a point at a pivotal moment when his ball cut and remained in the game, accusing the American of being “disrespectful”.
The Latvian added in another statement that she had never been racist in her life, but Osaka weighed, saying that the words used by Ostapenko during the altercation were bad.
“This is one of the worst things you can tell a black tennis player in a majority white sport,” said Osaka, champion of Grand Chemalle.
“I know that Taylor and I know how hard she worked and I know how intelligent she is, so she is the most distant thing without instruction or something like that.”
Osaka, born of a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, was a frank supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States, where she lives and in Japan. She was praised for supporting the campaign during her Flushing Meadows title race in 2020.
The 27-year-old woman used her platform to highlight racial injustice in the United States to a wider audience by bearing different black face masks-each bearing the name of an African-American killed in recent years-before each of her seven games.
“If you really ask me questions about the story of Ostapenko, I don’t think it’s the craziest thing she said. I’m going to be honest,” said Osaka with a smile.
“I think it was badly informed and said to the worst person possible. And I don’t know if she knows the story in America.
“I know that she will never say it in her life again. But yes, it was just terrible. It’s really bad. “
Regarding the main cause of controversy, Osaka said that she would not care about an opponent apologized or not for a net cord.
“I would certainly not care where it would affect me so much that I was very angry,” said Osaka.
“It is up to the person to apologize or not, but if it’s really close, I can see why they don’t.”
