Taylor Townsend gives props to Ben Shelton in the celebration game
Taylor Townsend is known for seasoning her wins with a few spicy celebrations but she has also paid tribute to a compatriot with a great signature emote.
Townsend singled out Ben Shelton for some praise as she discussed her own celebrations on court.
The tennis establishment hasn’t always looked kindly on players who celebrate too loud or too long.
Some might consider a cheeky celebration disrespectful just as Novak Djokovic took umbrage to Ben Shelton’s so-called phone celebration.
Townsend insists that her celebrations are just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
She suggests that the competitive nature of the sport brings on spontaneous celebrations.
“It just happens like in the moment like it’s just inside and just comes out. I mean, I love the seasoning one, like sprinkles, and many others. I mean, Ben Shelton’s little phone thing is super swag.I love that.
“It is just one of those things that kind of just happened,” Townsend said after a second round win over Elise Mertens at the Miami Open.
“So, whenever I feel compelled, just keep watching because you’ll know what’s going to happen.”
READ MORE: Taylor Townsend – ‘Having a child doesn’t stop you from being great at whatever you do’
Shelton has explained that his celebration isn’t a taunt at his opponent just him celebrating being ‘dialled-in’.
“So our home phone, when I was growing up in Atlanta, was one like that,” Shelton said at the US Open.
“If I wanted to talk to my friends or call their home phone, see if they wanted to go outside and throw a football, that was what I did. But for me it’s kind of like I’m saying I’m dialed in. That’s what it is for me,” he said.
Shelton explained that the celebration was inspired by Grant Holloway, an American track and field athlete. Holloway is a three-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist.
“The first time that I really saw it (the celebration) is, I’m really close friends with a lot of track and field athletes who train at the University of Florida where I live in Gainesville,” Ben Shelton explained.
“One in particular, Grant Holloway, who’s won the World Championships I think three times in a row now, that’s kind of his signature thing. He loves doing this when he wins, and a lot of other athletes on the team kind of started doing it after too,” he added.
“He just won the World Championships, so congrats to him. Give him a little shout-out when I do this. Something that connects me to my friends back home,” Shelton went on.
