Taylor Townsend savored a career-defining US Open campaign, advancing to the second week of singles competition and claiming the doubles runner-up spot alongside Katerina Siniakova.
The world No. 1 doubles player shut down critics following a heated exchange with former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who accused Townsend of having “no class” and “no education” after their second-round battle.
The journey to the top has been challenging for Townsend, who endured body-shaming from the USTA during her junior years before stepping away from tennis temporarily to welcome her first child, son Adyn Aubrey, in 2021. The American tennis sensation has now disclosed that Serena Williams became an unexpected source of support during her pregnancy, despite the pair not being close friends.
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The two-time doubles Grand Slam winner shared with The Pivot Podcast, “I got the closest with Serena when I was pregnant.
“I went over to her house and she put a whole Amazon list together for me of all the things that I needed to get for the baby, and like those times were, that was the most conversation I had ever had with her.”
However, Townsend, who battled Williams across both singles and doubles courts during her career, acknowledges that their competitive relationship prevented a genuine friendship from developing.
“It’s honestly surreal for me. It was really cool, especially being able to experience that here. Venus and Serena, you know, I’ve looked up to them for years,” she explained.
“But even for so many years on tour, it was never like a friendship. It was, ‘I’m out here and you’re another piece of competition. If I got to take you, I gotta take you out’.
“There’s an aura where it’s like, when we in this arena, we ain’t friends with buddies, and it’s no faking the funk, you know what I’m saying.”
Townsend has also battled Venus Williams twice during recent weeks. The 45-year-old staged a triumphant comeback in Washington this past July, advancing to the second round in both singles and doubles competition.
Venus teamed up with Hailey Baptiste in doubles, where they fell to eventual champions Townsend and Zhang Shuai. Subsequently, at the recent US Open, top seeds Townsend and Katerina Siniakova defeated Venus and Leylah Fernandez in the quarter-finals.
The elder Williams sister also openly expressed her backing for Townsend following her clash with Ostapenko.
“My thoughts about it? It was a lot of drama. It was a lot of drama. I thought Taylor handled it amazing. I really did,” she said.
“I just thought with her as a mom, how she handled it, her son will be watching. Her son is watching. She handled it with class, a situation that was not so classy. Just moved on and won again.
“So she’s handling it amazing. I’m rooting for her. She’s a wonderful person, a great mum. I hope she can keep going.”
