"We're Powerpuff Girls" - Taylor Townsend explains her 'salt sprinkling' celebration after reaching French Open final with Leylah Fernandez
Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez reached their maiden Grand Slam final together as a pair at the 2023 French Open on Friday, beating second seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the semifinals.
The American-Canadian pair celebrated their 6-0, 6-4 victory by jumping to the air in joy, following which Townsend was spotted pulling out her iconic 'salt sprinkling' celebration.
The American later explained her not-so-secret reasons for the celebrating, saying that it was just an inside joke she had with her team. At the same time, it also meant Townsend adding a little flavor to the court and the crowd.
When Leylah Fernandez jumped in and added that the celebration meant adding a "little spice" to their contests, Townsend took the comment in stride, comparing their team to the "Powerpuff Girls" and how they contain "sugar, spice and everything nice."
"No, it's not a secret. Just inside joke that I have with my team, like, because we found like some of the food sometimes doesn't have any seasoning on it. I'm, like, sprinkling a little salt, seasoning, just season the crowd, season the ball, the court, everything. So it's just, you know, adding a little flavor, you know. That's my thing," Taylor Townsend said.
"Sugar, spice, everything nice. We're Bubblegum Babies, no Powerpuff Girls, whatever. However you want to spin it. But, yeah, I'm just adding a little sprinkling, a little sauce, you know, on what we got going on on court," she added.
"I don't think either of us really thought about the score" - Taylor Townsend on bagelling Coco Gauff & Jessica Pegula in French Open semifinals
Taylor Townsend also spoke about how she and Leylah Fernandez felt mentally after taking the first set 6-0 against Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, remarking that they did not try to think too much about it.
Knowing how good Pegula and Gauff were, Townsend advised Fernandez to quickly move on and try to win the second set as fast as possible, as the all-American duo could have adjusted their tactics.
The advise proved helpful, as Townsend and her partner avenged their loss to Gauff and Pegula in the final of the Miami Open earlier this year without being stretched to a decider.
"I just really tried to close the book, like, and I said to Leylah, I was, like, We played great, that was awesome, but let's move on. Like don't drag this into the next set, because they're a great team. They're going to adjust. They're going to do things better, do things differently. We can't expect for the next set to go the same way," Taylor Townsend said.
"So, you know, emotionally just tried to kind of end it there and be present on what we were trying to do and our game plan in the next set. Honestly, like, I don't think either of us really thought about the score. I think that we were just really focused on what we were doing on our side of the court," she added.
In the final in Paris, Taylor Townsend and Leylah Fernandez will take on Wang Xinyu and Hseih Su-wei.