Following controversy, Townsend pulls off major U.S. Open upset

Taylor Townsend (USA) celebrates after her match against Mirra Andreeva (not pictured) on day six of the 2025 US Open tennis tournament at Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Following Round 2 controversy, Taylor Townsend pulls off major U.S. Open upset

By Luke Brown | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 10:39 AM ET

Despite a perfect record in women's singles at the U.S. Open, it seems the headlines and buzz about Taylor Townsend have all swirled back to negativity following her interaction with Jeļena Ostapenko in Round 2.

Ostapenko blew off some serious steam talking to Townsend, who said Ostapenko told her she has "no class" and "no education."

Townsend was able to put aside the distraction and controversy in Round 3, though, beating fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva to pull off a major upset in the grand slam event.

AMERICAN TAYLOR TOWNSEND UPSETS NO. 5 MIRRA ANDREEVA AT THE US OPEN pic.twitter.com/FOdUiM6pb9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 30, 2025

The first set between the American and Russian stars was close, coming down to a win-by-two circumstance for Townsend, and she won, 7-5.

Then, it seemed Andreeva was able to take control of the match, opening up with a 2-0 lead in the second set. But that wasn't the case. Townsend stormed back to win the second set, 6-2, notching an impressive 7-5, 6-2 win in the third round of the tournament.

After the win, Townsend was asked about how she can continue to recover and keep her head clear after what's been a whirlwind week, filled with controversy and now a huge win.

"I mean, we're standing on business on this team," she said. "Ain't nothing going to change. I'm going to go in the locker room, get my protein shake, get on the bike, do my stretch recovery."

In addition to her success in singles, Townsend is also on the top-seeded women's doubles team, paired with Katerina Siniakova. The two play on Saturday at 3 p.m. against Alycia Parks and Dayana Yastremska.

Then, Townsend is back in action in singles, facing Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday at a time to be determined.

Luke Brown

Luke Brown is a sophomore studying Sports Communication and Media at Rowan University. He has covered hundreds of high school sporting events, Minor League Baseball games, and anything else he can get involved with. He also covered the 2025 US Open, getting to talk to Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, his favorite career moment thus far.

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