In 2021, American tennis star Taylor Townsend bravely spoke out against body shaming in The Players’ Tribune, stating, “My body—it’s just a part of who I am. And if that makes you uncomfortable, then I don’t know what to say.” Fast forward to the present and Townsend is taking a more lighthearted approach to her physical capabilities, humorously suggesting she might only be cut out for one Olympic sport. Spoiler alert: It’s one that debuted at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
On April 2nd, the official Instagram page of the Cincinnati Open sparked a fun debate. The clip featured WTA stars picking Olympic sports they’d want to compete in. Among those sharing their picks were Emma Navarro, Aryna Sabalenka, and Jessica Pegula, each revealing their dream sport. But it was Taylor Townsend who stole the spotlight with her hilarious take on two Olympic sports—connected with one factor: flexibility.
Making her stance crystal clear, she quipped, “I would be like breakdancer from Australia….” The post was rightly captioned as: “Thinking we should add a breakdancing competition at this year’s tournament ” The other sport?
“I think it would be really cool to be a gymnast.” However, a few moments later, she gave herself a reality check. “I am like the farthest thing from that. Not flexible. Like scared to put my head and my legs over my head. It is what it is. Gymnastics.”
It’s hard to picture her doing anything but playing tennis, as she has been a tennis fan since the womb.
When asked about her “earliest memories of tennis?”, in an interview with The Cut last year, Townsend said, “My mom played until she was eight months pregnant with me. It’s funny, because I then played until I was a couple of days away from going to the hospital to have my son. The day before even, I was playing points with my sister, Symone. My earliest memories of tennis are of her. I was always around the game and I would get upset because I wanted to do what she was doing. It was very much, “If you can do it, I can do it better.” That was kind of my driving force.”
Coming back to tennis after giving birth to her son, Adyn, gave her the freedom to grow into her most authentic self, as the American once shared: “Becoming a mom helped me get to the point where if you accept who I am as a woman, if you love it, if you rock with it, cool. If you don’t, I don’t care, because I’m not doing it for anybody else anymore. I am truly just being myself.”
And now, fully embracing her body, she playfully envisions herself as an Olympic gymnast or a breakdancer, all while sharing a heartwarming bonding moment with Adyn at the recently concluded Miami Open.
Taylor Townsend takes a unique approach to recharging at the Miami Open with son Adyn
Taylor Townsend has been pushing through an intense schedule with little time to rest in recent times. After an impressive run at Indian Wells, where she reached the doubles SF with Katerina Siniakova, she jumped straight into the Miami Open. Her singles campaign ended in the R32 against Qinwen Zheng, but she continued to shine in doubles, advancing to the SF alongside Siniakova. What about family time?
With an extended stay in Miami because of her deep doubles run, Townsend hasn’t had much quality time with the 3-year-old. However, she’s ensuring that every moment counts.
Speaking about how she resets between matches, Townsend said, “It’s like always so many things going on, so it helps me to relax and just chill… It’s already been a long three weeks, and we still got a lot more to go. So I try to make the most of it when I have it—so why not build dinosaurs and have fun?” Adyn, clearly enjoying the moment, chimed in with a joyful, “We are having fun.”
As this isn’t the first time the mother-son duo has created such cherished memories, and it surely won’t be the last.
The post “Legs Over My Head”- Taylor Townsend’s Olympic Sport Picks Take a Hilarious Turn With a Dose of Self-Awareness appeared first on EssentiallySports.
