Naomi Osaka said using words like "no education" and "no class" to criticize a Black tennis player were among the worst things to say as the debate over a heated confrontation between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko raged on at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
Townsend, who is Black, overcame 2017 French Open champion Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 in a tough second-round battle a day earlier, but the real tension came shortly after match point when the pair verbally dueled at the net, with the Latvian repeatedly wagging her finger at the American.
Townsend revealed a part of the exchange during her on-court interview, after which she said in a news conference that Ostapenko would have to answer if there were "racial undertones" to the altercation.
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