Taylor Townsend apologizes for comments about Chinese food

Sep 17, 2025, 07:27 AM ET

SHENZHEN, China — American tennis star Taylor Townsend has apologized “from the bottom of my heart” for making disparaging comments about Chinese food.

Her original comments on social media — followed by her apology — came before the United States plays Kazakhstan at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen, China.

The 29-year-old Townsend, who is ranked world No. 1 in doubles, posted videos of local dishes including bullfrogs and turtles and joked she would need to “talk to HR” about the quality of the food.

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She took to Instagram again Wednesday to apologize after facing a backlash online.

“I just wanted to come on here and apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart,” said Townsend, who said she understood how privileged she is as a professional athlete to be able to travel around the world and experience cultural differences.

“[It’s] one of the things that I love so much about what I do, and I have had nothing but the most amazing experience in time here and the tournament,” Townsend said. “Everyone has been so kind and so gracious. And the things that I said were not representative of that at all. And I just truly wanted to apologize. There’s no excuse. There are no words. And for me, I just, I will be better.”

The U.S. is scheduled to play Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals Thursday.