US Tennis Star Taylor Townsend Apologises for Comments About Chinese Food

American tennis player Taylor Townsend has said sorry after she was criticised for comments she made about Chinese food while in Shenzhen, China, for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

The 29-year-old, currently the world’s top-ranked doubles player, posted videos on Instagram showing dishes like frogs, turtles, and sea cucumber. In one of the clips, she said:

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen… Imma have to talk to HR… turtle and bullfrog is WILD.”

Her comments quickly sparked backlash on both English and Chinese social media platforms.

“No Excuse – I Will Be Better”

After receiving criticism, Townsend posted a video on Wednesday to apologise:

“There’s no excuse, there’s no words, and for me, I will be better,” she said.

“I understand that I’m very lucky as a professional athlete to travel the world and experience different cultures. That’s one of the things I love most about what I do.”

She added that she had a “wonderful experience” at the tournament.

Mocked Traditional Chinese Dishes

The controversy began after Townsend shared videos reacting to traditional Chinese dishes, such as braised soft-shell turtle with fish maw and dry pot bullfrog. These are considered delicacies in southern China.

In the videos, Townsend said:

“These people are literally killing frogs… Aren’t bullfrogs poisonous? Don’t they give you warts and boils? And turtles?… I’d give this a two out of 10 so far.”

In another video, she and teammate Hailey Baptiste appeared to laugh at a dish made with sea cucumber while at a buffet.

Strong Reaction Online

Many users online said her comments were disrespectful to Chinese culture.

• “Won’t defend Taylor here — clearly offensive and shows a lack of understanding that there are other cultures outside the USA,” one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote.

• “It’s really offensive to mock other people’s cultural food,” said another.

On Chinese social media platform Weibo, the hashtag “American tennis player publicly insults Chinese food” became a trending topic.

One comment read:

“When you go overseas, respect the local customs and culture. You can choose not to eat it — but there’s no need to insult our food.”

Previous Controversy

This is not the first time Townsend has been involved in controversy. Just weeks ago, she had an argument with Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko during a match. Ostapenko was heard saying Townsend had “no class” and “no education”.

Ostapenko later apologised, denying the comments were racist and saying she was referring to tennis behaviour.

“I understand how the words used could have offended many people,” she said in an Instagram post.

Next Match for the USA Team

Townsend and her USA teammates are set to play Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals of the Billie Jean King Cup on Thursday.