Taylor Townsend advanced to the third round of the 2025 U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-1 upset of No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday at Flushing Meadows. The victory is the American’s first appearance in the tournament’s last 32 since 2023 and comes as she enters New York ranked world No. 1 in doubles. The result was overshadowed by a tense exchange at the net. Townsend told reporters that Ostapenko said she had “no class, no education” and warned her to “see what happens when we get outside the U.S.” Video of the handshake showed the players gesturing angrily before Townsend walked away and whipped up the crowd. Ostapenko later posted on Instagram that her frustration stemmed from Townsend’s failure to apologize for winning a key point on a net-cord shot and for beginning the pre-match warm-up at the net rather than the baseline. The Latvian insisted the confrontation was not racially motivated, writing, “I was NEVER racist in my life.” Townsend said she harbors “no beef” but added she would not accept insults after behaving respectfully. She leads their career head-to-head 2-1 and will meet No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva in the next round. Ostapenko, who has frequently drawn scrutiny for on-court arguments, exits the tournament in the second round for a second straight year.