Taylor Townsend Responds to Criticism of Black Players Dinner at French Open

Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend, two Black tennis players, hosted a party for Black players at the French Open in Paris.

Osaka and Townsend, two leaders in the tennis community, organized a dinner for Black players before the tournament started. The party quickly stirred a lot of reaction on social media. Some praised it, while others criticized it.

“When are the white, Latino, and Asian parties?” one critic asked.

Another suggested that the parties were “segregation.”

But both Osaka and Townsend are defending the party.

Aug 31, 2025; Flushing, NY, USA; Taylor Townsend (USA) reacts after missing a shot against Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) (not pictured) on day eight of the 2025 US Open tennis championships at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Townsend, 30, is one of the top doubles players in the world. She’s won won two major doubles titles, at 2024 Wimbledon and at the 2025 Australian Open.

She spoke out against the critics of her blacks-only dinner.

“It caused a bit of a stir, which I thought was pretty funny because for so long we have been the ones that (are) the minority in a sport where we kind of stick out,” Townsend said. “And now coming together all of a sudden seems like a problem.”

When asked about the thought of there being a dinner for white players, or another race, she replied with a lyric from the rapper Finesse2tymes.

“He said, ‘It’s cool when they do it; it’s a problem when I do it.’”

Osaka is defending the party, as well

Osaka made it clear that she feels it’s important to bring Black players together. The sport is still overwhelmingly white.

“Growing up, there weren’t a lot of tennis players I could look up to that looked like me,” Osaka said in an Instagram post about the dinner. “Being a minority in a sport like tennis is very isolating but the positive is that you keep tabs on everyone that … being blunt, is black. There’s a fellowship, a camaraderie.”

She added in a news conference: “I felt like everyone in that room was a part of my family.”

This story was originally published by The Spun on May 31, 2026, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.