“‘Let’s do some squats" Her son suggested after the match. "I just played three hours, I’m good." An exhausted Taylor Townsend shares an emotional moment with her kid after wasting 8 match points.”

Taylor Townsend left the US Open in tears, but also with renewed belief. After more than three hours of gripping tennis, the American fell 6-1, 6-7 (15-13), 6-3 to Barbora Krejcikova in a fourth-round battle that had fans on the edge of their seats. Townsend’s raw post-match reaction, captured on video as she cried while reflecting on the loss, showed just how much she poured into the contest.

“I literally gave everything,” Townsend said, her voice cracking as tears welled up. “She came up with some really great tennis in moments where she was down and I thought I had it. But I’m proud of myself. I don’t think I’ve ever put on a performance like this.”

The 28-year-old had eight match points in the second-set tiebreak, only to see Krejčíková claw her way back with stunning shot-making. Townsend admitted the loss “stings,” but also stressed it was proof she belongs at the highest level. “I’m exactly where I need to be,” she declared. “I’m playing the tennis I need to play to be inside the top 20, top 10, to win a Grand Slam. I’ve beaten a Grand Slam champion this week. I have everything I need—it’s just about getting the reps.”

Despite the heartbreak, Townsend embraced the moment as a turning point in her career. “This whole tournament has been a game-changer for me,” she said. “More than anything, I gained the respect of everyone in the tennis world. My competitors took notice. I really eliminated the ‘but’ and gained a lot of respect, both from men and women.”

Townsend admitted she allowed herself more time than usual to grieve the loss. “My coach and I have a rule: you get three minutes to sulk. I took ten,” she said with a bittersweet laugh. “But then I got love and hugs from my team, and that made it easier. Honestly, I was showering and already asking, ‘When’s the next singles match?’ That’s how I am. I’m motivated and ready to go back again.”

Her motivation will continue immediately in doubles, where she remains alive in the tournament. “I’m not done here. I’ll do everything I can to hoist the trophy. Me and my partner have done it before,” she said. “Doubles keeps me competitive and gives me the reps I need. For me, the more I play, the better I get. I know I can win a Grand Slam—and this week proved it.”

Looking back on the defining second set, Townsend admitted she needed to block out frustration. “I let myself scream inside—‘Oh God, damn it’—then I immediately thought, ‘OK, what do I need to do?’” she explained. “If you’re thinking about what happened before, whether it’s the set, the game, or the point, it never helps. I had opportunities, they went away. What am I going to do next? That’s how I took it.”

For fans, the sequence was gripping. For Townsend, it was torture. “I was holding my breath just like you guys,” she recalled. “It was high-level tennis. Fractions of an inch made the difference—like the backhand down the line on match point that barely clipped the line. What do you do in those moments? Too good, move on to the next point.”

Townsend’s young son AJ was her rock in the aftermath. “He stayed there the whole time, over three hours,” she said. “Afterwards he wanted to work out with me—‘Let’s do some squats.’ I told him, ‘I just played three hours, I’m good.’ Kids don’t know. I told him I lost, and he just said, ‘It’s OK.’ That’s the attitude I’m trying to embody.”

Even through tears, Townsend insists this is not adversity—it’s progress. “This is going to take me to another level,” she said. “I know I’m exactly where I need to be to fulfill every goal I have as a tennis player—to be a top player, to win Grand Slams, multiple. The only thing I need is the reps. It stings, but I’ll use it to fuel me. I did the best I could today.”