Tennis star caught in US Open racism row issues apology after offensive deleted posts

Taylor Townsend has apologised for publicly mocking Chinese food in a series of controversial posts on social media. The American was recently caught up in a racism row at the US Open after Jelena Ostapenko claimed she had 'no class' and 'no education'. Townsend later said it was 'one of the worst things you can say to a black tennis player in a majority white sport'.

Ostapenko went on to apologise for those comments, claiming that her comments were taken out of context. She also pointed out that English was not her first language, making it clear that she was only speaking about Townsend's etiquette on the tennis court. The latter welcomed Ostapenko's apology despite insisting that her words were 'belligerent' and 'offensive'.

Townsend has since travelled to China for the Billie Jean King Cup, where she is representing the United States. However, she was not impressed with the local cuisine and made her feelings known in a string of short-sighted posts on social media.

Players were offered speciality dishes including sea cucumber, turtle and bullfrog, prompting Townsend to share clips of the food alongside the caption: "This is the craziest thing I've ever seen... and people eating this."

She later ranted on her Instagram story, saying: "I'm just here doing recovery and I'm honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet. As I go back and I look and I'm like, these people are literally killing frogs, bullfrogs.

"Aren't those poisonous? Like, aren't those the ones that be giving you warts and boils and stuff? And turtles? And the fact it's all stewed up with like chillis and peppers and onions. Oh, you really made this a dish?

"And then you've got the sea cucumbers just staring there like, with the noodles. The only thing we've eaten."

Townsend's comments sparked a huge backlash on social media, with some users accusing her of being insensitive to the cultural differences in China.

She later returned to Instagram to issue a grovelling apology, saying: "Hi everybody, I just wanted to come on here and apologise sincerely from the bottom of my heart.

"I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things I love so much about what I do.

"I have had nothing but the most amazing experience and time here. Everyone has been so kind and so gracious and the things I said were not representative of that at all. I just truly wanted to apologise.

"There is no excuse and there are no words. I will be better. I'm really thankful to my country to be able to represent them and to be better and that's all that I can do. I just truly apologise."

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