“Have you heard of Arthur Ashe or Venus & Serena Williams?” – Fans slam Taylor Townsend for “playing race card” after US Open mixed doubles final loss
Taylor Townsend faced flak from fans over her bringing up race during her speech after losing the 2024 US Open mixed doubles final [Venus and Serena Williams (L), Taylor Townsend (R), Source: Getty]
“Have you heard of Arthur Ashe or Venus & Serena Williams?” – Fans slam Taylor Townsend for “playing race card” after US Open mixed doubles final loss
By
Sudipto Pati
Modified Sep 06, 2024 05:49 GMT
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Taylor Townsend’s remarks about the possibility of Black players mustering deep runs at tournaments have not gone down well with fans. Townsend’s take came after her loss alongside Donald Young in the mixed doubles final at the ongoing 2024 US Open.
Townsend and Young, both Chicago natives and left-handed players, faced the Italian duo of Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the final. The all-American pair went toe-to-toe against their No. 3 seeded Italian counterparts in the first set, forcing a tiebreak. However, ultimately, Townsend and Young lost the first set 6-7(0), and then went on to lose the second 5-7.During the post-match finalists’ speech, Taylor Townsend said that she and Young reaching the mixed doubles final at the US Open, Coco Gauff winning the 2023 women’s singles title and Frances Tiafoe reaching the men’s singles semifinals this time around prove that it’s “possible” for Black people to reach the latter stages of a Grand Slam.
“I just hope Donald and I standing here, Frances in the SF, & Coco being defending champion shows people that look like us that it’s possible,” Taylor Townsend said.
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However, Townsend’s statement drew criticism from several fans. Many suggested that such remarks from her as she stood on the court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium were unwarranted.According to these fans, Arthur Ashe’s consistent presence at the elite level of men’s tennis across the late 1960s and the 1970s paved the way for younger Black people to pursue tennis, which was once regarded as a sport predominantly for the white privileged. These fans also cited the examples of the legendary Venus and Serena Williams.
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“The stadium is literally named after a black guy named Arthur Ashe,” a fan wrote.
“Why wouldn’t it be possible? Does she think that she’s Arthur Ashe?” asked one fan.
“Lmao. Why is race brought into everything?? This is embarrassing and just pandering at this point. Venus+Serena lead the way, this isn’t 1990 holy f**k,” another chimed in.
“What? Thinking the great Williams sisters put that narrative to rest,” commented yet another fan.
“Oh please. Disappointing @TaylorTownsend Have you ever heard of Arthur Ashe or Venus and Serena?” questioned one fan.
Another set of fans lambasted Townsend for bringing up race during her speech.
“Playing the race card, people like her are insufferable,” wrote one fan.
“Imagine a white guy gave a speech like this in a sport dominated by non-whites. You’re there because you are good at what you do,” another weighed in.
Taylor Townsend recently hailed American women’s tennis’ resurgence after decades of Venus and Serena Williams’ dominance
Taylor Townsend (Source: Getty)
Taylor Townsend (Source: Getty)
After her quarterfinal loss to compatriot Emma Navarro at the National Bank Open in Toronto in the buildup to the US Open, Townsend lauded the presence of several Americans in the top 100 of the WTA Tour rankings.
According to Townsend, such a situation bodes well for American women’s tennis, especially considering that it was mostly Venus and Serena Williams who achieved the greatest feats over the past two decades.
“I think it’s a really special time just to be able to have another resurgence of women’s tennis. For so many years it was Venus and Serena only, and people tried to kind of chase the top. It’s really nice to be able to have so many high-level women inside the top 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, it’s very deep. It’s great because, like you said, we all push each other, it’s really cool,” Taylor Townsend said at a press conference.
Townsend is currently ranked 48th in singles and eighth in doubles on the WTA Tour rankings. In singles, she has a win-loss record of 21-18 this year, while in doubles, it’s 23-9.
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