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American fails to convert on eight match points, crashes out of U.S. Open
Taylor Townsend. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

American fails to convert on eight match points, crashes out of U.S. Open

By Sai Mohan  |  Last updated Sep 1, 2025 8:11 AM ET

World No. 139 Taylor Townsend had eight opportunities to keep her Cinderella Run going but instead crashed out of the U.S. Open on Sunday.

The American — who stunned the world by defeating 2017 French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko and World No. 5 Mirra Andreeva on her way to the fourth round — had her first of eight chances when she was up 5-4 in the third set (40-30), but failed to complete the break of serve. 

Subsequently, she had seven more match points during a 25-minute tiebreaker, the first of which she secured with a 6-3 lead. At that point, it seemed like Townsend would complete the mission amid a lively home crowd egging her on. However, her opponent, Barbora Krejcikova, kept fighting back and eventually won the tiebreaker 15-13 before taking the third set to complete a 1-6, 7-6, 6-3 victory.

A distraught Townsend fought back tears after her loss, knowing well she had missed a golden chance to reach a grand-slam quarterfinal for the first time in her career. A doubles specialist, the 28-year-old was never expected to last through the first week of the singles draw, but she gained confidence with each win in the first three rounds, making believers out of fans at Flushing Meadows with quality tennis.

An emotional Townsend didn't mince words in her news conference, admitting that she may never get another chance to reach the second week of her home major. However, she said she was "exactly where I needed to be" in her unexpected rise as a singles player. 

"I literally gave everything," she said. "She came up with some great tennis in moments where she was down when I thought I had it....I was so close. It was literally a point here and there that made the difference. This stings, but I'm proud of myself. I don't think I've ever put on a performance like this...More than anything, I gained the respect of everyone in the tennis world."

Townsend, the World No. 1 in doubles, will now aim to win her first U.S. Open doubles title, beginning with a Round of 16 match on Monday. 

Sai Mohan
Muck Rack

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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