Taylor Townsend admits thinking of son AJ helped calm her nerves on court

Taylor Townsend has continued her strong comeback to tennis, achieving her biggest singles victory yet at the ongoing Italian Open on Thursday. Townsend defeated compatriot Jessica Pegula 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of the tournament.

The result propelled Townsend to World No. 131 from 168 in the WTA live rankings, and it marked her second top-10 victory. The American's first top-10 victory had come against Simona Halep at the 2019 US Open.

Townsend dedicated her win to her son Adyn Aubrey Johnson, mentioning that thinking of him helped calm her nerves and settle down. She stated that everything she does is for her son, and expressed hope that he was watching the match.

In a conversation with Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj, Townsend admitted to having butterflies as she stepped on to the court. At that moment, the 27-year-old thought about her baby boy, which helped her maintain her composure.

“It was actually crazy because when I was walking on the court, and there were cameras in my face, I was thinking, ‘Hi AJ,’” she said. “It was one of those moments where I was feeling butterflies. Just thinking about him at that moment. Kind of made me settle down.”

Townsend also stated she cherishes these moments more, as they show her that her hard work is paying off.

“Everything I do, and these moments are so worth it because it shows the hard work that I am doing, it's paying off. I'm making it count,” said Townsend. “I hope that he's watching 'Hi baby, I love you so much.'"

"It's really special for me, and I value and cherish these moments right here," she added. "Cuz this is what it's for, this is what I was working for. This is what I've been working for, and I'm not done yet. This is just the beginning.”

Taylor Townsend's victory over Jessica Pegula leaves Brad Gilbert amazed

Taylor Townsend's victory over Jessica Pegula amazed Brad Gilbert

Former Andre Agassi and Andy Murray coach Brad Gilbert was amazed by Taylor Townsend’s second-round victory over Jessica Pegula at the 2023 Italian Open. The ESPN tennis analyst took to Twitter to voice his feelings.

“Just seeing live scores wow (star-eyed emoji) what a win for Taylor Townsend taking out Jpeg (Jessica Pegula), interesting she now has 3-1 H2H,” he tweeted.

Taylor Townsend is experiencing one of the best weeks of her career. The American broke into the top 10 of WTA's doubles rankings on Monday, reaching a career-high of World No. 6 with partner Leylah Fernandez.

Townsend will face China’s Wang Xiyu in singles next, in the third round of the 2023 Italian Open, on Saturday, May 13.