NEED TO KNOW
- After losing her singles match at the U.S. Open, Taylor Townsend received support from her 4-year-old son A.J.
- The professional athlete was also comforted by her son in between sets
- Townsend welcomed her son in 2021
Taylor Townsend had her little one by her side after a tough loss.
On Sunday, Aug. 31, the professional athlete, 29, spoke at a press conference following her match against Barbora Krejčíková at the 2025 U.S. Open. Townsend, who lost to Krejcikova during the quarterfinals game, revealed she had her son Adyn Aubrey Johnson (A.J.) to cheer her up after her loss.
“I told A.J., ‘Wow, you stayed there the whole time. It was over three hours and he sat there,” Townsend said of her 4-year-old son. “When I was talking to my coach when she was on the bathroom break, he was like, ‘If you need anything, I got you, just ask me.’ I’m like, ‘Okay.'”
“So you know, it’s nice to be able to have that,” she continued. “I was in the cooldown area and he was like, ‘Hey Mom, let’s work out together.’ I’m like, ‘Sir, I just played three hours. I don’t want to work out.’ ”
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When he asked her if she wanted to do squats, Townsend made sure her son knew that she was okay.
“And I actually said it, because I wanted to know what he was going to say. He’s like, ‘Good job, Mom.’ I was like, ‘Thanks A.J., I lost.’ He was like, ‘It’s okay,’ ” she said. “I was like, ‘That’s the attitude.’ So I’m trying to embody that.”
Last week, after Townsend won her second-round match against Jelena Ostapenko, the tennis player appeared to get in a heated argument with her opponent after Townsend won 7-5 6-1 .
According to The Athletic, the exchange began after Ostapenko, 28, told Townsend that she should say sorry for a shot that clipped the top of the net but stayed in play, which is known as a net cord.
In post-match footage shared by ESPN, Townsend appeared to say afterwards, “No, I don’t have to say sorry.” The intensifying boos from the crowd blocked the sound from the players, but Ostapenko could be seen pointing her finger at Townsend repeatedly afterwards.
Ostapenko appeared visibly confused and shook her head multiple times as the argument carried on. As the exchange ended, Ostapenko appeared to tell Townsend, “You have no education,” three times.
According to BBC Sport, on-court microphones also picked up Townsend telling Ostapenko to “take the L [loss].”
Speaking about what happened in her post-match interview with ESPN, Townsend said that “people get upset when they lose. Some people say bad things.”
Townsend, who is ranked No. 1 in doubles, then claimed that Ostapenko, who is from Latvia, told her she has “no class, I have no education and to see what happens when we get outside the U.S., so I’m looking forward to it.”
“I mean, I beat her in Canada, outside the U.S. I beat her in New York [inside] the U.S., so let’s see what else she has to say,” she added.
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