"There was no body positivity movement, that didn’t exist" - Taylor Townsend opens up about dealing with body images issues in the public eye

Taylor Townsend made her feelings known about the experience of facing body image issues in the tennis world when she was just 16 years old. The American recently concluded her Citi Open campaign.

Townsend has been one of the prominent faces of the tennis world since she was very young. She rose to fame in 2021 after she became the junior world No. 1, following her Australian Open win and a Wimbledon doubles victory at the young age of 16. However, her success shortly turned into one of the toughest times of her life after she was prohibited from competing in the junior US Open because her body type wasn't as lean as the other elite junior players.

The American was sent to a training center in Florida for her to focus on improving her fitness. Reflecting on this struggle, Townsend opened up in a press conference at the Citi Open, stating how it affected her and how there was no body positivity movement back then.

“I have had to go through some of the hardest struggles and the most personal struggles in the public eye. Some really very kind of intimate topics that had to be a topic of conversation literally around the world as a child and having to defend myself as a kid," said Taylor Townsend.

She added:

"There hasn’t been anyone who has gone through what I went through since I went through it, so I think things have changed a little bit -- which is great, right? When I was going through the whole body image thing, there was no body positivity movement. That didn’t exist."

Townsend recently competed at the Citi Open, which saw her win the women's doubles along with her partner, Zhang Shuai. They bested the pair of Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin in the final, with a score of 6-1, 6-1.

---

Taylor Townsend's son Adyn cracked up the American during her Citi Open victory speech

After earning the victory at the Citi Open women's doubles, Taylor Townsend stood upon the podium for the victory speech, where her son, Adyn, made her crack up with his funny remark. During the speech, he took over the mic, and after remaining silent for some time, he said:

"My mom had a good match... and a big dog."

The 'big dog' made Townsend laugh, and the entire crowd at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center was amused by the little one's hilarious remark. Here is the video of the moment:

With this doubles win, the American has become the new WTA doubles No. 1 for the first time in her career. Along with this, Taylor Townsend also competed at the singles match of the Citi Open, where she couldn't progress further than the quarter-final. She was up against Leylah Fernandez, who claimed the victory with a score of 6-4, 7-6(4).

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee