"She apologises to nobody";"Damage control" - Fans unimpressed by Taylor Townsend's response to backlash over 'awful' Chinese cuisine remarks

Taylor Townsend stirred controversy with her blatant criticism of Chinese cuisine recently. The American faced quite the backlash and subsequently issued an apology. However, despite Townsend's attempt to make amends, many fans felt that her apology lacked substance.

The 29-year-old, currently ranked No. 1 in women's doubles and 116 in singles, raised eyebrows after she questioned several Chinese delicacies on offer at a buffet in Shenzen, China. Townsend is currently in the city to participate in the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals as a member of Team USA.

To make things worse, she used the phrase, "these people", in a rather condescending manner to criticize Chinese people for 'killing and eating' bullfrogs, which were among the delicacies served at the buffet. Unsurprisingly, the American was accused of being racist. Amid mounting criticism, Taylor Townsend took to social media to apologize, saying:

"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."

However, most tennis fans spanning X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit were far from impressed with the American's apology.

"It's a non-apology. She doesn't even understand what she's done wrong. She's vague about the details of what she's done wrong. She apologises to nobody, doesn't mention China or the Chinese people," one fan wrote. "There’s most certainly someone from management that saw the response and said you’ve gotta apologize. Damage control," commented another. "She's FAKE," another fan chimed in. "Aw poor girl got caught being an EXTREME hypocrite 🤣 BE BETTER 🎾✅," urged one fan. "No class and uneducated," another added. "Apology not accepted. Ostapenko used culture as the reason for her comments after her loss to Townsend. Townsend refused to accept her apology and called her a racist. Now Townsend is using her lack of culture to excuse her racial insensitivity," weighed in yet another fan, bringing up Townsend's recent feud with Jelena Ostapenko.

Taylor Townsend and rest of Team USA members to lock horns with Team Kazakhstan in BJK Cup Finals QF

Taylor Townsend reacts during women's singles action at the 2025 US Open (Source: Getty)

Taylor Townsend will need to quickly move on from the controversy caused by her insensitive remarks about Chinese cuisine as Team USA looks to win the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time since 2017, when the international women's team tennis event was officially known as the Fed Cup.

The Americans are set to face Team Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals on Thursday, September 18. The Kazakhs have former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in their ranks, while Team USA consists of Townsend, Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro, Mccartney Kessler, and Hailey Baptiste.

The Americans will be captained by Lindsay Davenport, a former No. 1 in both women's singles and doubles tennis. During her illustrious playing days, Davenport was part of the Fed Cup-winning USA team thrice; in 1996, 1999 and 2000.

Edited by Sudipto Pati