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Tennis star Jelena Ostapenko apologizes on social media for remarks toward Taylor Townsend at US Open
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Latvian tennis star Jelena Ostapenko apologized on social media for what she told American tennis player Taylor Townsend during an emotional outburst after a U.S. Open loss.
Ostapenko told Townsend she had “no education” as she pointed her finger at her opponent following an early-tournament loss to the American. She wrote on social media that English is not her native language, “so when I said education, I was speaking only about what I believe (is) tennis etiquette, but I understand how the words I used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.”
Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (R) argues with Taylor Townsend of the United States (L) following their Women’s Singles Second Round match on Day Four of the 2025 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Aug. 27, 2025 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Townsend reacted to the apology after she won her doubles match on Saturday. She said she was unaware of it.
“That’s nice that she did that, that she apologized,” Townsend said. “That’s fine. That’s cool. At the end of the day, I think that it’s a learning lesson for her. … It’s great that she went to social media and apologized. But I really hope that, from this, she can take that like, hey, you can’t control people and it’s better just to focus on yourself.”
Townsend said she hadn’t personally heard from Ostapenko. Townsend defeated the No. 25-ranked Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1. The two came face-to-face after the match with Ostapenko delivering the insults.
Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Aug. 24, 2025, in New York. (Vera Nieuwenhuis, File/AP Photo)
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Townsend, who is Black, was asked by a reporter if Ostapenko’s comments at the net had racial undertones.
“I didn’t take it in that way, but also, you know, that has been a stigma in our community of being ‘not educated’ and all of the things, when it’s the furthest thing from the truth,” Townsend replied.
“So, whether it had racial undertones or not, that’s something she can speak on. The only thing that I’m worried about right now is continuing to move forward through this tournament.”
Taylor Townsend of the United States in action against Jelena Ostapenko in the second round of the women’s singles at the US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. (Mike Frey/Imagn Images)
Ostapenko said immediately after the match she was upset Townsend didn’t apologize after being helped by a net cord during a point. She also took issue with Townsend warming up before the match up at the net, instead of at the baseline.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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With 48 teams competing and a grueling path through the knockout stage, reaching the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be an accomplishment in itself.
Only four nations will survive the tournament’s first 100 matches and earn a spot in the final four, putting themselves within two victories of lifting the most coveted trophy in sports.
Let’s take a look at the latest odds to reach the semifinals at FanDuel Sportsbook as of June 26.
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To Reach Semifinals
Argentina: +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total)
France: +110 (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Spain: +120 (bet $10 to win $22 total)
England: +165 (bet $10 to win $26.50 total)
Portugal: +210 (bet $10 to win $31 total)
Brazil: +270 (bet $10 to win $37 total)
Netherlands: +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Germany: +330 (bet $10 to win $43 total)
USA: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Norway: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Colombia: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Belgium: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Morocco: +750 (bet $10 to win $85 total)
Switzerland: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Mexico: +850 (bet $10 to win $95 total)
Japan: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Croatia: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Ecuador: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Canada: +1700 (bet $10 to win $180 total)
Austria: +1900 (bet $10 to win $200 total)
Here’s what to know about this oddsboard:
The Top 10: Argentina, France, Spain, England, Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany — all considered powerhouse countries — stand at the top of the board, with each nation listed at +330 or better to reach the semifinals. But right after that group? The USA and Norway. The Americans have never made it to the semifinals of the World Cup, and this is Norway’s first appearance in the tournament since 1998.
SAN DIEGO — Hodad’s is a third-generation small business, a San Diego treasure that makes a damn good burger. I dropped by one of their two restaurants last winter, but I didn’t see what I wanted on the menu.
The burger I get at Petco Park, I explained to the server. She knew exactly what I meant.
“The F— the Dodgers burger,” she said, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
In San Diego, it had been an impish inside joke for years. If you didn’t know what FTD meant on the menu at the Hodad’s stands at Petco Park, the burger — with cheese, onion rings, pickles, mayonnaise and barbecue sauce — still was a good time.
When the Dodgers played here last month, a fan posted a picture of the menu board and explained what FTD stood for. The next day, Jomboy Media did the same, in a post with 1.6 million views.
“When I first saw that,” Hodad’s co-owner Shane Hardin told me, “I thought, ‘Oh, sweet, Jomboy, cool. We’ll get a little bump.’ ”
Then Hardin got a call from Delaware North, the company that handles the San Diego Padres’ concessions. People are talking, Hardin was told.
“And I’m like, ‘Cool, great, let ‘em talk, there’s no profanity anywhere,’ ” Hardin said.
The Padres and Delaware North did not see it that way. “FTD” was stripped from the menu boards at the four Hodad’s stands, initially replaced by the lame quartet of “Foul to Dinger,” “For the Division,” “For the Dugout” and “For the Diegans” and currently replaced by the strained quartet of “For the Dads,” “For the Dub,” “Faithful til Death” and (gulp) “Flyball to Deep.”
Another new name for the FTD burger at Petco Park.
(Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times)
The Padres declined comment for this column.
Hardin is more amused than annoyed, particularly given the origin of the FTD Burger. It’s been on Hodad’s Petco Park menu since …
“Was it the 2022 playoffs that the Padres beat the Dodgers?” he asked.
This is how a San Diegan tells time, but yes.
“The Padres hit us up and said, ‘We want a special menu item for the playoffs,’” Hardin said. “We go, ‘OK, without us ever saying what it meant, can we call it the FTD Burger?’ They said, ‘Oh, yeah, ha ha, that’s funny, go for it.’ And so we did.”
The burger has been sold at Petco Park ever since, with the same recipe, despite the online conspiracy theory that its three onion rings represented the Dodgers’ three World Series championship rings this decade.
“Dude, I don’t keep track of what the Dodgers have,” Hardin said. “I really don’t care.”
It is in that spirit that I am stunned the Padres made the change.
The San Diego Padres often sell “Beat LA” T-shirts in their team store.
(Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times)
The Padres, the team that sells “Beat L.A.” shirts in the team store. The Padres, the team that put up a meme of Clayton Kershaw crying on the video board. The Padres, the team that begged its fans not to sell their tickets to fans of “a team from a little ways up north” and also refused to sell tickets to that 2022 playoff series to anyone in Los Angeles County.
The Padres deserve a ton of credit for breathing life into what now is a feisty rivalry with the Dodgers. It is odd that, all of a sudden, they’re worried about decorum.
“I was under the impression that FTD was just kind of a fun ‘if you know, you know’ sort of thing,” Hardin said. “People will hold up signs saying ‘FTD’ and they’ll get on the JumboTron.
“At the end of the day, Hodad’s is a little rough around the edges. But we’re still a family place.”
Hardin isn’t upset with the Padres. It’s their ballpark, after all, and he enjoys being part of it.
“I love being there,” he said. “The relationship is great, honestly.”
And he had one other thing to say about the demise of the FTD label: “That first homestand after that news broke, we sold 50% more of that burger each game. I’ll take that.”
The Padres might want to reconsider. In baseball, curses are no joking matter, and the Curse of the FTD Burger might now have befallen the team.
When the Dodgers left Petco Park five weeks ago, the Padres were 1½ games behind them. Before the Padres’ next game, the Jomboy post went viral and the “FTD” name vanished.
As the Dodgers return here Friday, the Padres are nine games behind the Dodgers.
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Team USA’s final group stage match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup may not have had any implications for either team, but patriotism was in full force for the home country as Second Lady Usha Vance was among the many prominent figures at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday night.
As the U.S. national anthem rang across the stadium, with players and fans singing in unison, the FOX Sports broadcast showed Vance in a suite with a huge smile on her face as “The Star-Spangled Banner” ended.
Vance was present at the match just two days after FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that President Donald Trump would present the World Cup trophy to the winning team at the final in New Jersey on July 19.
U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance attends the 2026 World Cup Group D match between Turkey and the United States at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 25, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Vance was just the beginning of the stars that showed out in Inglewood, as Paris Hilton was seen presenting the match ball before kick-off. Then, cameras started to pick up the many high-profile faces throughout the crowd.
Among them were Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, a pair that many movie lovers know from their hit classic “Fight Club.” Some social media users even hoped that the discussion they were seen having was about a sequel.
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Also, movie star Ashton Kutcher was seen speaking with Los Angeles Rams standout wide receiver Puka Nacua, who knows the confines of SoFi Stadium (what it is called outside of FIFA play) very well.
Then, Colin Farrell, though Irish born, was rocking a replica Team USA jersey alongside his son in the stands to support the Stars and Stripes. Leonardo DiCaprio, Scottie Pippen and more were also seen in the seats.
U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance sings the anthem during the 2026 World Cup Group D match between Turkey and the U.S. at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 25, 2026. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
There has been a tremendous outpouring of support for the USMNT from everywhere, celebrity or not, throughout this tournament. The 4-2 win over Paraguay at the same Los Angeles stadium caused a frenzy in the stands, as the U.S. made a statement to begin the tournament on home soil for the first time since 1999.
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Then, it was on to Seattle, where a 2-0 victory over Australia not only led to a spot in the knockout round, but led to a bellowing of the John Denver classic, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” from everyone in the stands. The USMNT saluted their fans after yet another successful match.
It was a much different look for the USMNT entering Thursday night’s matchup against Türkiye, with nine changes to the starting XI after the team had already secured its place in the knockout stage. The Americans will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on July 1.
Paris Hilton is seen with children before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between Türkiye and USA at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on June 25, 2026. (Sarah Stier/FIFA)
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No matter who’s on the pitch, some of the biggest names in the country are showing support for the team that has inspired tremendous national pride to kick off this tournament.
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