Taylor Townsend enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2025, helped by her incredible run at the US Open.
There, she overcame great adversity to enjoy a career-best run at a singles Grand Slam, whilst also reaching the final of the doubles event.
Since then, the American has admitted that dealing with this newfound fame has not been easy, although making friends on tour has helped.
Her friendship with Naomi Osaka is one such example, and, speaking on The Changeover Podcast, Taylor Townsend has explained how that came about and what the Japanese superstar is really like off court.
Taylor Townsend reveals what Naomi Osaka is really like
She began by explaining the origins of their friendship: “We had barely spoken outside of, like, hi, bye, like, one time in Cincinnati, like, she had just finished a match, and she was sad, and, like, she had just come back. And like, I went up to her and just hugged her and I’m like, you’re gonna be fine. You’re good.
“But after that, you know, it was just like, hi, you know, kind of the same. And then she invited me [on vacation], and I was like, all right. Like, and I was kind of hesitant. I told her this. I’m like, girl, I was not going to come.
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Credit: Sofascore
“I didn’t know what I was getting to like, I didn’t know who was gonna be there. You know what I’m saying? Like, but it ended up being the best trip ever.”
Townsend then explained what Osaka is really like off court, often offering a quiet and unbothered demeanour to the press: “She’s like actually really cool, and she’s f——— hilarious.
“Like, but it’s the way that she talks, you have to be listening because she doesn’t talk loud, and when she speaks, she speaks. So it’s like, you really got to be listening. She’s not going to say it multiple times.”
Townsend finished with a story that exemplifies their budding friendship, claiming: “And so, like, she actually came to one of my matches when I was playing, last round qualies in Australia.
“And she asked my physio. She was like, Do you think Taylor will get mad if I say something? And she was like, ‘No, go ahead.’ And she was like, ‘You have to hit to the backhand, hit to the backhand.’ I was like what? And she was like, ‘I’m talking as loud as I can, hit to the backhand!’ And I was like, girl, you gotta speak up.
“So it’s like, she’s super, she’s amazing. Like, and it’s been really cool to know her personally, and then to, like, support her in a way that’s completely detached from tennis.
“It actually feels really good to have someone that you, like, rock with outside of, like, tennis, you know? Like, we don’t see each other, like, we’ll practice, whatever, but there’s no, like, animosity or anything. Like, we genuinely just support each other.
Who did Taylor Townsend beat in her 2025 US Open singles run?
Townsend has long been considered a doubles specialist, yet insists she is a ‘tennis player, not a doubles player’.
She has proven that claim correct on multiple occasions, and her run at the US Open last year offered the perfect indicator.
Kickstarting her campaign with a routine win over Antonia Ružić, Townsend then battled through a controversial match with Jelena Ostapenko, which really boosted her profile.
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The American’s reaction to such disrespect was remarkable, and she carried that poise into her third-round match.
There, she faced the fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, and again came out on top against the odds.
Sadly, her run was quelled in the Round of 16, as Townsend squandered eight match points against Barbora Krejcikova before losing the match.
