Ben Shelton & Frances Tiafoe Stand Against Taylor Townsend’s Disrespect at US Open

The tennis community is buzzing after a heated on-court exchange between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko during the second round of the 2025 US Open. Townsend secured a straight-sets win over her Latvian opponent, but things turned tense afterward when the two exchanged words at the net. Townsend told ESPN, “She told me I have no class, I have no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the US.” Soon after, the conversation extended beyond just the two players, as fellow Americans Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton weighed in on the drama, showing support for Townsend.

During his post-match press conference after defeating Martin Damm Jr., Frances Tiafoe was asked about the incident. First, he acknowledged that he didn’t know Taylor had even won, but then kept it straightforward: “If you lost, you lost. Keep it pushing… I really don’t know what happened, but no reason to ever go there. Keep it about tennis.” Later in the same presser, when another reporter brought up the scuffle and shifted the discussion towards tennis etiquette— specifically, whether players should apologize for net-cord winners, Tiafoe admitted he finds such debates interesting:

“That court thing is funny, right, ‘cause it’s like, yeah, you should do it.” He claimed that even though the nets in NYC aren’t the tightest in the world and nothing goes over, he’s still “happy to get on that court.” And as far as enjoying such friction is concerned, he shared that there’s a line to be drawn still: “There’s ways to go about it. Look, I’m not trying to sit here and say, ‘I’m a saint’. I’m not; I’ve had my moments. But, I think sometimes it’s good. I mean, it’s fun for fans. I mean, everyone likes a little altercation. But I mean, as long as it doesn’t go overboard, but the altercation is good. But again, I don’t know so much that happened. I didn’t watch the video or anything like that. But I do think back and forth are good. And sometimes it drives for good entertainment. But as long as it can’t go overboard. I’ve been on the overboard side and it’s not fun.” And of course, Tiafoe would know all about those “overboard” moments because he isn’t a stranger to heated moments himself. 

At the 2024 Shanghai Masters, a disputed time violation during a decisive tiebreak pushed him over the edge. What followed was an expletive-filled outburst at the chair umpire that cost him a record $120,000 fine and a public apology. Fast forward a few months to Wimbledon 2025, and Tiafoe was under fire again. This time it was for taking an unusually long bathroom break against Cameron Norrie, a move many pundits believed was a tactic to halt his opponent’s momentum. And at Roland Garros that same year, Tiafoe chose words over theatrics, slamming what he saw as hypocrisy after Lorenzo Musetti kicked a ball that struck a line judge without being defaulted, calling the decision “comical”. And then, reporters turned to Ben Shelton.

In his post-match conference following a win against Pablo Carrenso, Shelton was asked for his thoughts on the incident, given his past mixed doubles partnership with Townsend. While he admitted he didn’t catch every detail, he also shared:

“Not the smartest thing to say to an American in New York City, but she handled her business. Always going to back Taylor, you know. I don’t know exactly what happened during the match, but just happy for her that she’s making a run and in the singles draw. We didn’t do what we wanted to do in the mix. So, she’s definitely making up for it and like she said after the match, she spoke with a racket and yeah, just happy to see her winning.” When told exactly what was said to Townsend, Shelton didn’t hold back, calling it a “crazy, crazy statement.”

While Townsend is getting support from different sides, Ostapenko wasn’t going to stay quiet forever herself. And she took to Instagram to break her silence about Taylor Townsend’s disrespect. 

Jelena Ostapenko breaks her silence on the US Open spat with Taylor Townsend

Revealing her side of the story through social media, Ostapenko wrote, “Today after the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding moment and didn’t say sorry, but her answer was she doesn’t have to say sorry at all…” But doesn’t this contradict what Taylor Townsend said during her on-court interview? Well, that’s some food for thought. 

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The Latvian continued, “In the beginning of the match, all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline. The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at the net, which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match.” But as of now, we’re still in the dark about the actual sequence of events.  

But one thing is for sure. The rivalry between Townsend and Ostapenko, which kick-started in 2018, has found a new direction. And both athletes will definitely do their best to secure a win when they collide with each other in the future.

What do you think of the on-court scuffle? While you ponder that, head to our EssentiallySports Live Blog to catch real-time updates of the US Open.