The Townsend-Ostapenko confrontation at the US Open remains a topic of conversation

NEW YORK (AP) — The postmatch back-and-forth between Taylor Townsend and Jelena Ostapenko remained a topic of conversation at the U.S. Open 24 hours later on Thursday — but not for Ostapenko, who skipped speaking at a news conference, citing “medical reasons.”

Townsend, an American who is ranked No. 1 in doubles, and Ostapenko, a Latvian who won the 2017 French Open in singles, were back on court in separate doubles matches on Thursday. Townsend and her partner, Katerina Siniakova, won theirs; Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova, lost theirs.

On Wednesday, after Townsend's straight-set victory over Ostapenko in singles, they had an extended argument after shaking hands up at the net — and Townsend, who is Black, said Ostapenko called her “uneducated” while wagging a finger.

“Anyone and everyone that I’ve spoken to who saw anything, they obviously said that it was disrespectful," Townsend said. “Even the mannerisms of her hand pointing at my face like I’m a child, and just the things that she was saying, everyone said that it was bad behavior.”

Ostapenko said afterward on social media that she was bothered by two things Townsend did: begin the warmup by volleying instead of hitting shots from the baseline — which might be unusual, but is something the American often does and is within the rules — and not apologizing after winning a point with help from the ball going off the net's tape.

Townsend found those critiques “hypocritical,” she said Thursday.

“I mean, she’s not known to have sportsmanship and have the best code of conduct,” Townsend said, “so to try and call me out on something that you don’t even do yourself is crazy.”

When the subject of Townsend-Ostapenko initially was raised at Naomi Osaka’s news conference following her 6-3, 6-1 win over Hailey Baptiste in the second round Thursday, the four-time Grand Slam champion said: “I saw that part, obviously. It’s been on the TV, like, every 15 minutes.”

“Obviously, it’s one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport,” said Osaka, whose father is from Haiti and mother is from Japan. “And granted, I know Taylor, and I know how hard she’s worked, and I know how smart she is, so she’s the furthest thing from uneducated or anything like that.”

After winning her second-round match Thursday night, Coco Gauff described the episode as “a heat-of-the-moment thing. 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 feeling. ... Knowing Taylor personally, she’s the opposite of that. She’s one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met," Gauff said. "Whenever I’ve had a tough moment on court, she’s texting me, making sure, checking in on how I am. So I really hate to see that.”

As for Ostapenko, in particular, who has gotten into kerfuffles with opponents before, Osaka said: “I don’t think that’s the craziest thing she’s said. I’m going to be honest. I think it’s ill timing and the worst person you could have ever said it to. And I don’t know if (Ostapenko) knows the history of it in America. But I know she’s never going to say that ever again in her life. ... It was just terrible. Like, that’s just really bad.”

Townsend was asked Wednesday whether she thought there were racial undertones to Ostapenko's comments.

“I didn’t take it in that way, but also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of being ‘not educated’ and all of the things, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Townsend responded.

“So whether it had racial undertones or not, that’s something she can speak on,” Townsend said. “The only thing that I’m worried about right now is continuing to move forward through this tournament.”

Looking back a day later, Townsend said she had received a lot of support.

“I felt like I handled the situation very gracefully, and I’m really proud of the way that I handled it,” Townsend said Thursday. “I didn’t allow the situation to take me out of my character or to lose my integrity as a person, and that’s what really matters.”

Ostapenko posted on social media Wednesday that she had received many messages “that I am a racist.”

“I was NEVER racist in my life and I respect all nations of people in the world. For me it doesn’t matter where you come from,” she wrote.

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

Taylor Townsend, of the United States, returns a shot during her doubles match with her partner, with Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, against Aldila Sutjiadi, of Indonesia, and Nadiia Kichenok, of Ukraine, in the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

FILE - Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Aug. 24, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis, File)

Katerina Siniakova, left, of the Czech Republic, and her partner Taylor Townsend, of the United States, congratulate each other after winning a point during their doubles match against Aldila Sutjiadi, of Indonesia, and Nadiia Kichenok, of Ukraine, in the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Taylor Townsend, of the United States, gets set to receive during her doubles match with her partner, with Katerina Siniakova, of the Czech Republic, against Aldila Sutjiadi, of Indonesia, and Nadiia Kichenok, of Ukraine, in the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — Like many retirement communities, The Terraces serves as a tranquil refuge for a nucleus of older people who no longer can travel to faraway places or engaging in bold adventures.

But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers at the community in Los Gatos, California, schedule a date for residents — many of whom are in their 80s and 90s — to take turns donning virtual reality headsets.

Within a matter of minutes, the headsets can transport them to Europe, immerse them in the ocean depths or soar them on breathtaking hang-gliding expeditions while they sit by each other. The selection of VR programming was curated by Rendever, a company that has turned a sometimes isolating form of technology into a catalyst for better cognition and social connections in 800 retirement communities in the United States and Canada.

A group of The Terraces residents who participated in a VR session earlier this year found themselves paddling their arms alongside their chairs as they swam with a pod of dolphins while watching one of Rendever's 3D programs. “We got to go underwater and didn't even have to hold our breath!” exclaimed 81-year-old Ginny Baird following the virtual submersion.

During a session featuring a virtual ride in a hot-air balloon, one resident gasped, “Oh my God!” Another shuddered, “It's hard to watch!”

The Rendever technology can also be used to virtually take older adults back to the places where they grew up as children. For some, it will be the first time they've seen their hometowns in decades.

A virtual trip to her childhood neighborhood in New York City's Queens borough helped sell Sue Livingstone, 84, on the merits of the VR technology even though she still is able to get out more often than many residents of The Terraces, which is located in Silicon Valley about 55 miles south of San Francisco.

“It isn't just about being able to see it again, it's about all the memories that it brings back,” Livingstone said. “There are a few people living here who never really leave their comfort zones. But if you could entice them to come down to try out a headset, they might find that they really enjoy it.”

Adrian Marshall, The Terraces' community life director, said that once word about a VR experience spreads from one resident to another, more of the uninitiated typically become curious enough to try it out — even if it means missing out on playing Mexican Train, a dominoes-like board game that's popular in the community.

“It turns into a conversation starter for them. It really does connect people,” Marshall said of Rendever's VR programming. “It helps create a human bridge that makes them realize they share certain similarities and interests. It turns the artificial world into reality.”

Rendever, a privately owned company based in Somerville, Massachusetts, hopes to build upon its senior living platform with a recent grant from the National Institutes of Health that will provide nearly $4.5 million to study ways to reduce social isolation among seniors living at home and their caregivers.

Some studies have found VR programming presented in a limited viewing format can help older people maintain and improve cognitive functions, burnish memories and foster social connections with their families and fellow residents of care facilities. Experts say the technology may be useful as an addition to and not a replacement for other activities.

“There is always a risk of too much screen time," Katherine “Kate” Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies aging issues at Sheridan College in Canada, said. “But if you use it cautiously, with meaning and purpose, it can be very helpful. It can be an opportunity for the elderly to engage with someone and share a sense of wonder.”

VR headsets may be an easier way for older people to interact with technology instead of fumbling around with a smartphone or another device that requires navigating buttons or other mechanisms, said Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who is examining the use of VR with older adults.

“The stereotypes that older adults aren’t willing to try new technology needs to change because they are willing and want to adapt to technologies that are meaningful to them,” Bhowmick said. "Besides helping them to relieve stress, be entertained and connect with other people, there is an intergenerational aspect that might help them build their relationships with younger people who find out they use VR and say, ‘Grandpa is cool!’"

Rendever CEO Kyle Rand's interest in helping his own grandmother deal with the emotional and mental challenges of aging pushed him down a path that led him to cofound the company in 2016 after studying neuroengineering at Duke University.

“What really fascinates me about humans is just how much our brain depends on social connection and how much we learn from others,” Rand said. “A group of elderly residents who don't really know each other that well can come together, spend 30 minutes in a VR experience together and then find themselves sitting down to have lunch together while continuing a conversation about the experience.”

It's a large enough market that another VR specialist, Dallas-based Mynd Immersive, competes against Rendever with services tailored for senior living communities.

Besides helping create social connections, the VR programming from both Rendever and Mynd has been employed as a possible tool for potentially slowing down the deleterious effects of dementia. That's how another Silicon Valley retirement village, the Forum, sometimes uses the technology.

Bob Rogallo, a Forum resident with dementia that has rendered him speechless, seemed to be enjoying taking a virtual hike through Glacier National Park in Montana as he nodded and smiled while celebrating his 83rd birthday with his wife of 61 years.

Sallie Rogallo, who doesn't have dementia, said the experience brought back fond memories of the couple's visits to the same park during the more than 30 years they spent cruising around the U.S. in their recreational vehicle.

“It made me wish I was 30 years younger so I could do it again,” she said of the virtual visit to Glacier. “This lets you get out of the same environment and either go to a new place or visit places where you have been.”

In another session at the Forum, 93-year-old Almut Schultz laughed with delight while viewing a virtual classical music performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and later seemed to want to play with a puppy frolicking around in her VR headset.

“That was quite a session we had there,” Schultz said with a big grin after she took off her headset and returned to reality.

Rendever CEO Kyle Rand is pictured at Salesforce Park in San Francisco on June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Jim Holtshouse and his son, Mike Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Bob Rogallo watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Mike Holtshouse and his father, Jim Holtshouse, watch video through Rendever virtual-reality headsets at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Jim Holtshouse watches video through a Rendever virtual-reality headset at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio retirement community in Cupertino, Calif. on June 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)