Coco Gauff recently opened up about the heated exchange between Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend at the US Open, siding with the latter. The tournament commenced on August 24 and will conclude on September 7 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Ostapenko and Townsend locked horns with each other in the second round of the women’s singles tournament on August 28, 2025. The American produced a dominating delivery, registering an impressive 7-5, 6-1 win over the Latvian tennis player. However, this loss didn’t sit right with the latter and turned into a heated conversation between the players.
After sealing the win, Townsend went to her opponent for the handshake at the net, where the Latvian said that the American should have said sorry for a net cord, to which the latter disagreed. Following this, Ostapenko went on to repeat ‘you have no education’ three times to her opponent. This controversy is currently making rounds all over the tennis community, and Gauff recently voiced her opinion on the same.
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In a press conference with the US Open, Coco Gauff sided with Townsend, stating that she is one of the nicest people she has ever met. Along with this, the 21-year-old also shared a firm statement for Ostapenko, stating that it must have happened because she was feeling a lot of emotions after the loss.
"I know what was said after the match. I think that's, you know, not. I think it was a heat of the moment thing and I think Jelena was probably feeling emotions after she lost. I do think that that shouldn't have been said regardless of how you're you're feeling, especially given those were the reasons that she stated. And knowing Taylor personally, she's the opposite of that. She's one of the nicest people that I've ever met," said Coco Gauff.
Opening up about how the American has been kind to her and singing praises of her for being a good mother and a good friend, Gauff said that she hated to see the incident.
"And whenever I've had a tough moment on court, she's texting me, making sure checking in on I'm how I am. So, yeah, I really hate to see that. You know, maybe this is some some of the first people hearing who Taylor Townsend is. And I don't want that to be the main focus of who she is because she's a lot more than that. She's a mom. She's a great friend. She's a talented tennis player and a good person. So I think by the end of this tournament, I hope that people will do a deep dive into her and get to know her more than what was said in the previous batch."
Coco Gauff voiced her opinion about the net cord situation between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko
In the aforementioned press conference, Coco Gauff also opened up about Jelena Ostapenko asking Taylor Townsend to apologize for the net cord. Supporting the American, the 21-year-old said that she has competed against the women's doubles World No. 1 multiple times, and she warms up near the net since her junior years and it's not against the rules.
Along with this, she also spoke about the net cord and Townsend earning a win after it.
"Yeah, no, I saw what happened at the end of the match and obviously I'm close with Taylor and I, I can tell you, well, the first two things that happened, Taylor always has warmed up at the net since juniors. I played her in a challenger like when I was 14, and that's what she did. And it's not against the rules. And then same thing with the let core, even though it's something that some people do. But she had a winner afterwards. And, you know, it's not, you know, it's not against the rules either," said Coco Gauff.
Coco Gauff herself is currently vying for her second US Open title and recently advanced to the third round after competing against Donna Vekic in the second round on August 28, 2025. She claimed a 7-6(5), 6-2 win against her opponent and is now scheduled to lock horns with Magdalena Fręch in the next round.
