NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Townsend is in the spotlight at the U.S. Open as a result of an interaction she wishes never took place.
Townsend said Jelena Ostapenko told her she had “no class” and “no education” during a face-to-face argument after their second-round match Wednesday. A huge crowd cheered her on in doubles on Thursday, and Townsend made the most of a spot in prime time at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night, upsetting fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2.
Going into this Grand Slam, Townsend had nowhere near the star power or the name recognition of fellow Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and she is not even seeded in singles play. Yet the 29-year-old who is half of the top-ranked women's doubles team in the world and was No. 1 as a junior player has become one of the biggest stories of the tournament through no fault of her own.
“It’s bigger than me,” she said on the court after the match. “It’s about the message, it's about the representation, it's about being bold and being able to show up as yourself and I did that tonight. You guys saw the real Taylor Townsend tonight.”
Townsend hopes the attention around the confrontation and her calling attention to it can be a positive for the U.S. Open and tennis in general.
“If I’m someone who can draw huge crowds into the stadiums as a name that can bring people to come and buy tickets and support the game, then that’s a crown that I’ll gladly wear,” Townsend said. “Whatever that it is, whatever type of attention that it brought, it’s doing the right things, which is bring people to see the sport and bringing people in to support and that’s what it’s all about.”
Townsend, who is Black, and Ostapenko, who is from Latvia, had an intense back and forth after Townsend won in straight sets. When asked if she thought the comments had racial undertones, Townsend said she didn't take it that way but acknowledged, “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.”
Gauff and Naomi Osaka were among those who publicly came to Townsend's defense. Osaka called what Townsend reported Ostapenko saying “one of the worst things you can say to a Black tennis player in a majority white sport.”
Even privately, Townsend said other players came up to her to broach the subject and express their support. Online, she gained thousands of social media followers.
“It’s cool to know that people see you and people are watching and more than anything,” Townsend said. "I was hoping that it was received a certain type of way, and it was, so it was just external validation that I handled things the right way and that’s what I’m the most proud of and the most happy with. I wasn’t looking for that, and in my answers and when I decided and I spoke and I said what I said I wasn’t looking for those things, but it’s nice to know that I made people proud.”
Townsend is in the fourth round at the U.S. Open, more than a decade after the U.S. Tennis Association decided to hold her out of junior competition over concerns about her fitness. The organization in 2012 withheld funding her tournament appearances while she focused on getting in better shape.
In the intervening time, she has become dominant in doubles, winning Wimbledon last year and the Australian Open earlier this year with partner Katerina Siniakova, and the pair is the top seed in Flushing Meadows.
Townsend, who has not gotten past the fourth round in singles at a major, will face two-time Grand Slam singles champion Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday.
If she reaches the quarterfinals this time, she wants the lesson to be that it is OK to stand up for yourself.
“Sometimes I feel like in society, especially people of color, we are expected to be silenced, or sometimes there are times where we have to decide and be very strategic as to when we speak up, and in these type of moments, it’s important for me to speak up, not only for myself but for my culture,” Townsend said. “No matter what, no matter what attention comes or whatever, I think it’s about being unapologetically yourself, be happy in who you are and never allow anyone to take you out of your character and who you are as a person.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Taylor Townsend, of the United States, serves 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)
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)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal officer shot a person in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel during an arrest Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The person cautioned the information was still preliminary, and the investigation was in its early stages. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away.
A large group of federal agents and Minneapolis Police wearing gas masks fired tear gas into a crowd gathered at a north Minneapolis intersection near where Wednesday's shooting took place.
The city of Minneapolis said on the social media platform X that, “We are aware of reports of a shooting involving federal law enforcement in North Minneapolis. We are working to confirm additional details.”
Earlier Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since Good's shooting.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a televised speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People react after a firework was set off near the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
