American Taylor Townsend Rejects Race-Bait Question After U.S. Open Dust-Up, Shares Phenomenal Response

American tennis player Taylor Townsend stood on business, both on and off the court, following her second-round victory at the U.S. Open and the dust-up with her opponent during their handshake at the net.

Townsend, 29, knocked off Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets (7-5, 6-1) on Wednesday in what was a fiery, yet relatively routine match, but nothing was straightforward about what Ostapenko said after shaking Townsend's hand.

During her on-court interview, Townsend explained that Ostapenko told her that she has "no class and no education."

Ostapenko later took to Instagram to share a lengthy message about why she was upset with Townsend, claiming that her warmup routine was against the rules of tennis while also explaining that she was frustrated that the American didn't apologize after winning a point that crept over the net. She also shared that she had received several messages accusing her of being racist, while writing, "I was never racist in my life."

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Despite Townsend not alluding to any sort of racist undertones, and Ostapenko saying she has never been racist in her life, it didn't stop a reporter from trying to bait Townsend into accusing her opponent of having a racist connotation with her comments.

"For a lot of black people, hearing no education, no class would be interpreted, and rightfully so, as a dog whistle," the reporter began. "Do you believe that that had racial undertones?"

Townsend not only refused to take the bait from the reporter but also delivered one of the strongest responses imaginable with an answer simply rooted in common sense.

"I can't speak on what her intentions were. I can only speak on how I handled the situation, and how I handled it is someone who's upset about the outcome that occurred," Townsend began. "You lost and you're upset about that. Saying that I have no education and no class, I don't really take that personally because I know that it's so far from the truth and so far from anything."

"I'm very strong. I'm very proud as a black woman to be out here representing myself and representing us in our culture, and I make sure that I do everything that I can to be the best representation possible every time that I step on the court and even off the court," she continued. 

"So, I can't speak on how she felt about it. That's something that you're going to have to ask her. I didn't take it in that way. But also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of, you know, being non-educated and all the things when it's the furthest thing from the truth. And the thing that I'm the most proud of is that let my racket talk because ultimately I'm the one here sitting in front of you guys moving on to the next round getting the next check moving on being able to still be here and speak to you guys and that's what's the most important. She's packed up and she's gone."

Townsend's exchange with the reporter begins at the 13:01 mark in the video.

There is absolutely nothing anyone can critique about Townsend's response. During a time when many allow and even encourage the color of one's skin to dominate ordinary conversation and circumstances – a competitive tennis match for example – it's refreshing to see Townsend go against that trend, speak her mind, and not play the assumption game when so many in the world are guilty of doing so.