Taylor Townsend has landed in hot water over her reaction to local Chinese delicacies while in the country for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Fans were appalled by the American's decision to "mock" the cuisine with her complaints, leading to severe backlash.Townsend recently arrived in Shenzhen for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, with Team USA set to battle it out against Kazakhstan for a spot in the semifinals. Ahead of the tie, the doubles World No. 1 joined her teammate Hailey Baptiste for dinner and was taken aback by the food choices on display at the hotel buffet.Taylor Townsend took to Instagram and shared a glimpse of a sea cucumber dish, describing it as the "craziest" thing she had ever seen and expressing shock at the thought of people consuming the meal. The 29-year-old also said it was "wild" to see soft-shell turtles and bullfrogs on the menu. She went on to voice concern about the bullfrogs being poisonous and ultimately ranked the experience as a "two out of 10.""I'm just here, doing recovery, and I'm honestly just so shocked. I think what I saw in the dinner buffet, I'm like, 'These people are really killing bullfrogs, aren't those poisonous?' Aren't those the ones that are giving you warts and boils? And turtles? And the fact that it's all stewed up with chili, peppers, and onions. Like, 'Oh, you really made this a dish.' And then you got the sea cucumbers just staring there like, with the noodles, the only thing that we're eating" Taylor Townsend said.Although Townsend had received a wave of support in the wake of her confrontation with Jelena Ostapenko at the US Open, many fans came to agree with Ostapenko's take on the American "lacking education" after her complaints about the local Chinese cuisine."Ostapenko was right about her lacking education," one fan commented."If you want to mock a country’s delicacy, and the people that cook and eat it, the smart thing to do is not to do it online… guess someone is poorly educated for real. You can just not eat it, order food online or room service 🤷🏻‍♀️," another fan chimed in."The fact that she thought not one not two but THREE stories about this was okay, is wild to me. Like- this is not normal behavior. If you don't like a cuisine, then don't eat it. What is the point of posting multiple stories bashing it? Such disrespectful behavior," a fan wrote."She’s complaining about chicken organ (heart, gizzard, skin) satay too 🙃. She didn’t just mock the dish, but also the people that cook and eat it…🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️," said another.Meanwhile, other fans criticized Taylor Townsend for the "blatant racism and xenophobia" she had displayed with her comments."This is blatant racism and she'll cry if she's in the receiving end," one fan posted."The casual xenophobia... American woman is flabbergasted that different cultures have different eating practices and cook things differently. More at 10," another fan wrote."These people? Pretty racist stuff," a fan commented."Irony that she misinterpreted a Latvian player’s comments as “racists” and told people that Penko needs to “understand what her words mean in America”….but here she is disrespecting the culture where she is. Funny how that happens," said yet another."Jelena Ostapenko doesn't understand the magnitude of what those words mean" - Taylor Townsend on Latvian's apology after US Open dramaTaylor Townsend - Source: GettyAfter her heated exchange with Taylor Townsend at the 2025 US Open, Jelena Ostapenko issued an apology and acknowledged how her words could've have been offensive to the American.In a recent interview with CBS Mornings, Townsend said that she had "compassion and understanding" for the Latvian but questioned the sincerity of her apology. The doubles World No. 1 also made it clear that she didn't "tolerate disrespect" from her opponents."She doesn't understand the magnitude of what those words mean and the weight behind them, but, I mean, it's like, you know, there were things that transpired after the fact that i was just like 'okay, this may not be the most sincere but as a human, I understand, you give grace where grace is due but then like I said, I don't tolerate disrespect and especially when I treat you with respect and with sportsmanship and I am honoring the game, don't disrespect me," Taylor Townsend said.On the tennis front, Taylor Townsend and Hailey Baptiste will represent Team USA alongside Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and McCartney Kessler at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. They will take on Team Kazakhstan, led by Elena Rybakina, on September 18.