Taylor Townsend has reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 ATX Open. Following her advancement to the final eight, the American opened up about motherhood and humorously described being coached by her four-year-old son, Adyn Aubrey.
Townsend announced her pregnancy in October 2020 and welcomed her son, Adyn, in March 2021. The four-year-old was in the stands watching his mother compete at the WTA 250 hard-court tournament in Austin.
Taylor Townsend Opens Up About Being a Mother After Reaching the 2026 ATX Open QF
Townsend received a wild card entry in the singles main draw of the 2026 ATX Open, and began her campaign by defeating lucky loser Linda Fruhvirtová 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-5 in the first round. She then secured her place in the quarterfinals by eliminating qualifier Nikola Bartůňková 6-1, 6-4.
During her post-match on-court interview after the win, Townsend opened up about motherhood. She remarked that while tennis has been her life for a long time, becoming a mother has made this role “bigger” and “more important” to her than tennis.
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was four. I turned pro when I was 15, and I’m about to turn 30. So 15 years out here, and for a really, really long time, this was my life, and so to have something bigger than that and more important has really been going to put tennis in perspective for me. I’m really falling back in love with the game, and I’m really enjoying myself out here, and it’s just like I’m really navigating a different space,” Townsend said.
Coach AJ knows what’s up 🤠@TaylorTownsend | #ATXOpen pic.twitter.com/IGLzd7b1AM
— wta (@WTA) February 25, 2026
Speaking about her son Adyn, Townsend shared that during her breaks between sets, when she went to him, the four-year-old “coach” offered her a simple tip: to hit the ball where her opponent wasn’t.
“Having a four-year-old as my coach, I think, is working pretty well so far. ‘Thanks coach AJ!’ I was going over there, and he was like, ‘Hey mom, just hit the ball to the open spot,’ I was like, ‘Got it.’ I love listening to people who don’t really know about tennis that much because it’s so simple, and sometimes as pros we over complicate things, and he just said at 4 just hit it where she’s not, and I was like, ‘Oh okay, let me try that,’” she added.
Looking ahead, Townsend will face qualifier Rebeka Masarova in the quarterfinals of the 2026 ATX Open, with the two players having never faced each other on the WTA Tour.
The winner of the quarterfinal match between Townsend and Masarova will move on to face either Ashlyn Krueger, Anastasia Zakharova, or lucky loser Yuan Yue in the semifinals of the tournament.
In addition to her singles campaign in Austin, Townsend is also competing in the doubles event alongside Storm Hunter. They are the top seeds and have advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will take on the duo of Zakharova and Oksana Selekhmeteva.
