What did Taylor Townsend say about Chinese food? Tennis star issues apology over remarks

The current world no. 1 doubles tennis player, Taylor Townsend came under fire after making comments on Chinese food present at a buffet in Shenzhen, China, where she is currently playing at the Billie Jean King Cup. The 29-year-old faced backlash on social media after she posted a clip criticizing and mocking the food presented to players at a gala, as per Daily Mail.

In the video, now shared online by The Tennis Letter, Townsend can be seen alongside teammate Hailey Baptiste as she turns the camera to a table full of dishes, and zooming in on a sea cucumber, said,

“What the hell?…This is crazy. I have never seen one of these up close, especially not to eat.”

Townsend included a photograph of the chef’s recommendations, which included dishes such as “Braised soft-shelled turtle with fish maw” and “dry pot bullfrog.”

After adding that she would have to talk to “HR,” Townsend posted another video of herself commenting on the food made available to the tennis players.

In the video shared by The Tennis Letter, she wrote that the audience is her “HR,” and continued,

“I’m honestly just so shocked at like what I saw in the dinner buffet. And as I go back and I look…these people are literally killing frogs, bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that be giving you warts and boils and stuff? And turtles? And the fact that it’s all stewed up with chillies, peppers, and onions. And like oh, you really made this a dish. And then you got the sea cucumbers just staring like…So all in all I’d give this like a solid 2 out of 10 so far, because this is crazy.”

Taylor Townsend on the dinner buffet she saw in China:

“I’m honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet. As I go back and I look… these people are literally killing frogs… bullfrogs. Aren’t those poisonous? Aren’t those the ones that give you warts and boils… pic.twitter.com/IQHDp49yrZ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 16, 2025

Taylor Townsend released an apology after her comments on Chinese food were criticized by netizens

Taylor Townsend’s videos showing her distaste for the food presented to tennis players in China was sharply condemned by fans and netizens on social media as clips of her reactions started being circulated online.

Fans expressed disappointment with Townsend, and noted that her comments were disrespectful of the cultural differences between countries and their cuisines.

Fans also noted that Townsend spoke about Chinese culture offensively while adopting an ‘ignorant’ attitude about the culture.

According to BBC, even a hashtag, "American tennis player publicly insults Chinese food” began trending online after Townsend’s clips went viral.

Townsend responded to the public outrage by taking to her social media once again and accepting that she was wrong in her approach to another culture’s food habits. According to a clip of the tennis player reposted to X, she can be heard saying,

“Hi everybody, I just wanted to come on here and apologize sincerely from the bottom of my heart.  I understand that I am so privileged as a professional athlete to be able to travel all around the world and experience cultural differences, which is one of the things that I love so much about what I do.”

As per Daily Mail, Townsend continued to provide insight into her experience at the Billie Jean King Cup in China, and added,

“I have had noting but the most amazing experiences and time here. The tournament and everyone has been so kind and so gracious. The things that I said were not representative of that at all. I just wanted to truly apologize. There's no excuse. There's no words. For me, I will be better. I'm really thankful to my country to be able to represent them.”

"There's no excuse...I will be better."

Taylor Townsend has posted an apology video to her IG stories after facing backlash for earlier comments on Chinese cuisine pic.twitter.com/7uReGdgpqk

— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) September 16, 2025

Townsend’s comments and apology comes in the wake of another controversy that the star was embroiled in recently when Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko criticized her on-court behavior, as per BBC.

At the time, Ostapenko was called out for the comments which were interpreted as being racist.