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Taylor Townsend's rocky week continued as she dropped to second in the WTA Women's Doubles rankings behind her partner, Katerina Siniakova. The American tennis star was surrounded by controversy following her comments about Chinese food last week during the Billie Jean King Cup Finals (BJK Cup) held in Shenzhen, China.
Townsend featured in only one match during the tournament, where she was paired up with Jessica Pegula to face Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva in the first round. The American pair won 6-2, 7-6 (1) in straight sets. However, Team USA eventually ended up losing the title to Italy, conceding a 2-0 victory in the final.
Siniakova's rise to No. 1 in the rankings could be a result of fluctuations in the rankings due to the weekly updates. However, the 29-year-old's recent racism allegations have meant that she has had a tough time off the court.
These allegations started when Taylor Townsend came across some Chinese food she wasn't familiar with during her BJK Cup campaign. She expressed her disgust when Chinese eateries offered bullfrogs and turtle on their menus and took to her social media accounts to share her experience.
The videos quickly circulated on Chinese social media platforms, with some calling out Townsend for her insensitivity. Even though the doubles star issued a public apology, she ended up receiving boos from the fans during her match in China.
Townsend and Siniakova partnered up in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this year. They won the Australian Open, reached the semifinals at Wimbledon before losing in the Final at Flushing Meadows last month.
"I just truly apologize" - Taylor Townsend
Taylor Townsend issued an apology after being called out on her controversial remarks on Chinese food during the BJK Cup Finals. The American posted a clip of herself acknowledging her mistake.
"Hi everybody, I just wanted to come on here and sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart," Townsend said. "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."Townsend continued:
"There’s no excuse, there are no words. For me, I just have to be better. I’m really, really thankful to my country for giving me the opportunity to represent them and to grow from this. That’s all I can do. So I just truly apologize."Last month, during the US Open, Taylor Townsend engaged in a verbal spat with Jelena Ostapenko, where the Latvian was accused of being racist towards her after a loss.
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Edited by Tushar Bahl
English (US)