Inside Taylor Townsend's US Open journey: From being body shamed to doubles world No. 1

Taylor Townsend, world no. 1 in doubles, has emerged as the people’s champion at the US Open 2025, certainly playing some of the best tennis of her career so far. This comes years after she was body shamed, with many doubting her capabilities in the sport, The Guardian reported.

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According to Sportico, Townsend's following on Instagram has skyrocketed during her time in the US Open. It has increased by more than 150 per cent in recent weeks, which includes gaining 64,000 followers in a single day.

Before the tournament began, Townsend had nearly 115,000 followers on the social media platform. This has now jumped to around 330,000.

On Friday, Townsend and her partner, Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova, were defeated in the women's doubles event by Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand by 6-4, 6-4 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In her concession speech, Townsend said her experience at the US Open this year was “monumental” and life-changing.

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The Chicago-born star has fought against the criticism around her weight and height ever since she started playing tennis at the age of four, The Guardian reported. It added that she plays at around 170lb, while she is 5ft 7in tall.

At the age of 16, she was the world’s top-ranked junior. During this time, she came into the spotlight as her mother, who herself was a college player, slammed the United States Tennis Association (USTA) as the organization denied her travel funding to take part in the US Open 2012. This happened as the coaches insisted that Townsend must improve on her “overall fitness”.

Pat McEnroe, the then player development chief, later clarified that the organization was looking towards Townsend’s “long-term health and development”. But that controversy added Townsend's name to cultural debates surrounding race, body image, and gender politics, according to The Guardian. At that time, several of her supporters pointed out that American players like Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport were being singled out, since they had "unconventional" body types.

Townsend, who welcomed her son in March 2021, is currently pursuing her career while raising her child.

Recently, she shared that the child was a "great accident", as the pregnancy was a "complete shock" for her. After welcoming her son, she decided to focus on health and ended up losing 80lbs.

She is ranked no. 1 in doubles.

Her child's name is Adyn.

She and her partner, Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova, were defeated in the women's doubles final by Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe by 6-4, 6-4.

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