Jelena Ostapenko has issued an apology to American tennis player Taylor Townsend following remarks that have ignited a debate on racism during the US Open.

The exchange occurred after Townsend, who is African American, defeated Ostapenko, who hails from Latvia, in straight sets. Ostapenko remarked to Townsend that she lacked ‘class’ and ‘education.’

Ostapenko denied the comments were racist and has now issued an apology on Instagram.

Without naming Townsend, she wrote: ‘Hi all – I wanted to apologize for some of the things I said during my second-round singles match. 

Ostapenko explained, ‘English is not my first language, and when I referred to education, I meant tennis etiquette. I realize now how my choice of words could have offended people beyond the tennis circle. I am grateful for the support as I strive to learn and evolve both personally and professionally. Farewell, New York, and I hope to return next year.’

Her apology divided fans and came after Townsend’s mom accused Ostapenko of making a racial comment at her daughter.

‘My reaction as a lback person who was a black tennis player who has experienced it, I know exactly what she was saying,’ Sheila Townsend told Palm Beach Post.

‘It was a racial comment what she was saying. What does her education have to do with anything that happened in the tennis match? It didn’t have anything to do with the match itself. So that’s something she must be feeling all along. 

‘I understand in the heat of the competition, as a person who was a competitive tennis player too, if her comment was about her play, then it’s one thing. But it was not directed at her play. 

‘It’s not the first time with her poor sportsmanship when she has lost. But has she said to another white person about her education? Has she pointed her finger at a white player she may have lost to? I haven’t seen it and I’ve been watching her as long as they’ve been playing.’

The initial response among tennis fans was split as well.

‘This is exactly what i thought too. Education could just easily mean manners or etiquette to a non-english speaker as Jelena has rightly stated,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘Also not everyone in the world needs to be keyed in on american history. They’re tennis players not historian of the world.’

Another supportive reply said: ‘I might be the only person who quickly understood that by education she meant tennis etiquette .I’m not a fan of either player but its sad that it became a race issue.’

But a different tennis follower simply wrote: ‘I mean that seems like a very light apology to me…’ 

Another critical post said: ‘It doesn’t matter if she meant tennis etiquette. She still stood there and told a player with equal experience, the #1 doubles player in the world that she was ignorant of tennis etiquette. And she did not apologise for ‘no class’. I’m done with thinking her quirks are amusing.’

Until now, while denying her words were racist, Ostapenko had doubled down on her fury at Townsend, who she accused of disrespectful conduct.

‘There are some rules in tennis and unfortunately when the crowd is with you, you can’t use it in disrespectful way to your opponent,’ Ostapenko said earlier in the week on Instagram.

‘Unfortunately for me coming from such a small country I don’t have that huge support and a chance to play in homeland. I always loved to play in the US and US Open but this is the first time someone is approaching the match this disrespectful way.’

In a separate and later-deleted social media post, Ostapenko added: ‘She was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry, but her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all.’

Townsend, meanwhile, responded by doing her talking on the court.

The unseeded American caused a huge upset on Friday night, beating No 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in just 76 minutes on Arthur Ashe.

Then, she told the crowd: ‘It’s bigger than me. It’s about the message, it’s about the representation, it’s about being bold and being able to show up as yourself and I did that tonight. 

‘You guys saw the real Taylor Townsend tonight.

Townsend was supported by many of her peers before her win on Friday, notably from Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka. 

Osaka called what Townsend reported Ostapenko saying ‘one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport.’