Taylor Townsend was met with jeers and boos as she entered the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in China on Thursday. The American won her doubles encounter in the Billie Jean King Cup finals alongside Jessica Pegula.
Townsed entered the BJK Cup after a solid fourth-round exit in New York. She earned a valuable point for USA in the doubles round by defeating Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 6-2, 7-6(1).
The 29-year-old was recently criticised for her insensitive comments on Chinese food culture. The Shenzhen crowd made their feelings heard court-side during her double round.
Here is the video of the crowd booing Taylor Townsend:
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Townsend is the No. 1-ranked doubles player in the world. Apart from title-winning runs in Melbourne and Dubai, she also secured a runner-up finish in Paris (alongside Katerina Siniakova).
For those who missed Towensend's comments about Chinese food on Wednesday, here's what she said after getting a glimpse of the dinner buffet in her hotel:
"Day 3, dinner and look... Yo, what the hell? What the helly, I'm saying?" Taylor Townsend said in one of her Instagram stories.
"You guys, this is crazy... This angle is f***ing nuts. This is crazy! I've never seen one of these up close," she insisted in a separate story.
She felt the bullfrogs being served were poisonous and was surprised to see them spiced up:
"I'm just here, doing recovery, and I'm honestly just so shocked. I think what I saw in the dinner buffet, I'm like, 'These people are really killing bullfrogs, aren't those poisonous?'" she said. "Aren't those the ones that are giving you warts and boils? And turtles? And the fact that it's all stewed up with chili, peppers, and onions. Like, 'Oh, you really made this a dish."
"The things that I said were not representative of that at all" - Taylor Townsend issued an apology for her comments on Chinese food
Taylor Townsend issued an apology for her inconsiderate comments on Chinese culture. She clarified that she didn't mean to offend anyone.
Townsend shared an apology post on social media after fans called her out for her careless comments. She also thanked the tournament organisers for being hospitable to her over the years.
"Hi everybody, I just wanted to come on here and sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart," Taylor Townsend said in her Instagram story clip. "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."
"I have had nothing but the most amazing experiences and such a wonderful time here at the tournament. Everyone has been so kind and so gracious. The things that I said were not representative of that at all. And I just truly wanted to apologize."
The American wished to grow from this experience and take care of her actions in the future.
"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.""
Townsend helped Team USA advance to the semifinals of the BJK Cup Finals. She will be eager to win the event with her teammates, Jessica Pegula, Hailey Baptiste and McCartney Kessler this year.
