American Taylor Townsend lost to Czech Barbora Krejčíková in a three-hour match in the fourth round of the U.S. Open women’s singles tournament on Sunday, but regardless, the fourth Grand Slam of the year was a huge win for Townsend.
The 29-year-old unseeded Townsend first made headlines following her straight-sets second-round win over Latvian No. 25 seed Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday. When the two met at the net after the match, Ostapenko had heated words for Townsend, telling her opponent that she had “no class, no education.” The comments were in response to what Ostapenko believed were two incidents of Townsend breaking tennis etiquette: first, for starting her warmup at the net instead of the baseline, and second, for not apologizing after a lucky shot that hit the net and bounced over.
The home crowd in New York came to Townsend’s support by booing Ostapenko in the moment, and they also extended that support to social media. Townsend gained 64,000 Instagram followers on Thursday alone.
But she wasn’t done yet. On Friday night, Townsend upset No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-2 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium for only the third win over a top-10 player of her singles career. She picked up another 35,000 Instagram followers on Saturday.
Townsend is a solid singles player, having finished five seasons inside the top 100. However, she’s a much more successful doubles player—she’s won two Grand Slams with partner Kateřina Siniaková and rose to No. 1 in the world in the women’s doubles rankings this summer. Townsend and Siniaková played on the Grandstand, the third-largest court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, for their first-round match, which drew a packed crowd.
Townsend also participated in the U.S. Open’s revamped mixed doubles tournament during Fan Week alongside most of the sport’s top 10 singles players. She partnered with American Ben Shelton, and the two won a round before losing to fellow Americans Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison. That tournament also generated a renewed interest in doubles more generally, which has given Townsend added attention.
At the Open this year, Townsend has been wearing her own clothing line with an interlocking TT logo that she unveiled earlier this season. After years of not having an apparel sponsor after her Nike contract ended in 2017, she decided to go the DIY route. Townsend did a pop-up shop in New York City for her new brand during Fan Week.
All in all, Townsend’s Instagram following has exploded from 115,000 followers before the event to 296,000 (+157%) heading into the second week of the main draw. That’s a larger raw increase than anyone else in the tournament, including 20-year-old Alexandra Eala, who has gained 141,000 followers since becoming the first Filipino player to ever win a main draw match a week ago.
“This is some people’s first time interacting and finding out who Taylor Townsend is, right?” Townsend said in a press conference at the U.S. Open. “I just have gotten so much love and support on a personal level from fans and people who are just really supporting and rocking with me.”
