American tennis player Taylor Townsend has issued an apology for comments she made about Chinese food while staying in the Chinese city of Shenzhen for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Townsend, while attending a dinner buffet, posted on Instagram videos of local cuisine, which included bullfrogs, turtles and sea cucumbers, calling the food options "crazy" and captioning one of the videos by saying she would have to "talk to HR."
Townsend faced backlash on social media for the comments, which were perceived as culturally insensitive. On Wednesday, she took to Instagram and apologized, vowing to be better.
Taylor Townsend issues an apology for the comments she made about the Chinese buffet:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 17, 2025
“I will be better.” https://t.co/HG0XbRPh2E pic.twitter.com/OZDTnlU0WJ
"I just wanted to come on here and apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart," Townsend said. "I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things that I love so much about what I do..."
"There’s no excuse, there is no words, and I will be better," Townsend said in reference to her comments.
The top-ranked women's doubles player in the world, Townsend advanced to the women's doubles final at the U.S. Open but also enjoyed a successful run in singles, reaching the fourth round while pulling off upsets of two top-25 players. Townsend's run at Flushing Meadows was not without controversy, as world No. 24 Jelena Ostapenko, irked that the American had not apologized for a ball hitting the net cord, said she had "no class" and "no education." Ostapenko later apologized after she faced backlash for her comments.
Townsend has won 10 career doubles titles, including the 2025 Australian Open and 2024 Wimbledon, alongside her doubles partner Kateřina Siniaková.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Taylor Townsend Issues Apology for Critical Comments Made About Chinese Food.
