Any time Taylor Townsend came across a hurdle, she simply reminded herself, “Keep pounding the stone.” The explanation behind this is simple: Stay consistent because you never know which blow will crack the stone. When she suffered a concussion last year, that very philosophy brought her quickly back to the court, even though the time spent with the family was a ‘blessing in disguise’ for her. Fast forward to this year, and many things caught her by surprise.

For starters, her big win at the US Open doubles tournament that proved her perseverance. But instead of celebrating, she flew to Mexico for the Guadalajara Open. Her health, though, had different plans. On Wednesday morning, the day she was supposed to play top-seeded Marta Kostyuk, she woke up with a sharp stomachache. She was eventually hospitalized for emergency surgery and has been sharing updates. Now, she is opening up about what really happened that morning.

“It was really scary,” said Townsend during the Good Morning America Show. “I was supposed to be playing at 5 o’clock last Wednesday, and I woke up at like 2:30 in the morning feeling like I was getting stabbed in my stomach, and I didn’t know what was happening. And I thought I had food poisoning or something.”

Things, however, were much worse.

She asked for a physio at about 7:30 in the morning, asking to prescribe something for food poisoning. But when the doctor checked her, he didn’t like what he saw.

“They do the ultrasound; it comes back that I have appendicitis, and my appendix was inflamed, and they were like, ‘We have to do emergency surgery.’ And I was just like, I’m there by myself, I call and see him, I’m like, I don’t want to do this, please, someone just get me home. I don’t want to do this here. I was just thinking about my son and everything, and it was just really, really scary.”

Townsend ultimately went to the hospital for the surgery and has been sharing updates with us since then. Funny enough, the player who didn’t even want to celebrate her big win and fly off to another tournament just three days apart was forced to take some rest. But what could’ve been if she had not come across this health setback!

This year, Townsend had very good momentum after she won the US Open doubles title along with Katerina Siniakova on September 11. At the GDL, on September 14, she won her first-round match against Tatjana Maria. While it would’ve been an uphill battle against Kostyuk, she could’ve at least given a good challenge to her. Instead, she had to give her Mexican friends another message.

“Hi everybody, on the heels of achieving my first career grand slam at the US Open, I was so excited to play in front of all of you in Guadalajara. Because of emergency surgery I am forced to withdraw from the GDL Open, and it breaks my heart. But, I’m looking forward to coming back here next year to see all of you, the greatest tennis fans. Viva Mexico!!!,” her statement on the official GDL Open social accounts read.

As of now, however, she has been looking sharp, recovering, and continuing to share updates with us.

Taylor Townsend Starts Her Recovery Process After Her Surgery

Townsend has already hit the road, starting her recovery process. With her pet Doberman, Creed, by her side, the American shared a video of herself taking a mile-long walk, which is the first step in her recovery. But she was not exactly in the mood to do just that.

“Day 1: one mile walk. It’s taking everything in me not to just start running, because I feel really good,” said Townsend on her Instagram story. “I know I can’t so I’m just gonna…”

Throughout the journey, Townsend kept updating her followers about her life, even sharing post-operation photos. Even through the “trials and tribulations,” as she called them, the American didn’t lose her sense of humor, though.

She shared how she had been fasting for almost thirty-six hours, which is a standard protocol after an emergency surgical procedure, with the American joking about disappearing into the bed due to the weight loss.

Given that the ideal recovery time after an appendectomy is somewhere near six weeks, Townsend will most likely miss the WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan.

From a doubles point of view, Townsend will not be worried about dropping points, as she and Siniakova have already qualified for the WTA Finals and have won six titles this year.

As for her singles season, Townsend is currently ranked No. 92 on the live rankings, and should she miss most of the Asian swing, she could drop out of the Top 100. The American will hope for a few points at the end of the season to keep her ranking in the Top 100 to ensure a direct main-draw entry at the Australian Open next year. Townsend had a great season in singles as well in 2026, with the American reaching her maiden Tour-level final at the ATX Open.

This is not the first time she has suffered from a medical mishap this season.

During her Miami Open run, she suffered from a concussion and whiplash to her spine after a bad fall. The American did not take long to recover and start winning on the Tour, winning the doubles title at the French Open just over two months after her injury.

Given her recent Instagram updates, Townsend has already hit the road, starting to get back to full fitness in time to return to the Tour. Now, it’s only a matter of time until she bounces back.