Donald Young, Ryan Harrison, New York Open
Aug 31, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Donald Young of the United States hits a forehand against Gael Monfils of France (not pictured) on day four of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke

Rising tennis star Ryan Harrison was accused of racial discrimination by fellow American Donald Young after their first-round match at the 2018 New York Open on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT). After Harrison prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Young took to social media to reveal details of a tense exchange between the two players during the Round of 32 match.

Young went on Twitter to address racial abuse claims. “I’m shocked and disappointed, Ryan Harrison, to hear you tell me how you really feel about me as a black tennis player in the middle of our NY match. I thought this was supposed to be an inclusive gentleman’s sport," Young said in a tweet.

According to several reports, there is no audio or video footage that backs up Young's claims. However, one video surfaced in which the Americans are engaged in a heated argument when Harrison was up 5-4 in the first set. The players were seen meeting behind the umpire's chair before they had to be separated by officials.

New York open 2018: Harrison, Young refuse to shake hands

The players reportedly refused to shake hands after the match before exchanging a few more unpleasant words. After the match, Harrison refuted the racism claims while addressing the media.

"We both started at a very young age on Tour, and we've had pressure and expectations on ourselves for a long time. I've been very fortunate to have fought through a lot of the adversity. Donald is trying to fight through the adversity, trying to break back into where he wants to be," said Harrison, via ESPN.

"If that happened on a football field, everyone would laugh and say '15-yard penalty' and move on. You move forward and try to take it in stride. At the end of the day, you see everybody, you like everybody and you want to be friends and friendly with everybody, but everybody out here I compete against, even the ones I like, they are the ones trying to take away my livelihood. I have to do what I can to get through, and I was proud of myself for doing that," added Harrison, the sixth seed at the New York Open 2018.

The inaugural 2018 New York Open continues Thursday AEDT as World No. 43 Ryan Harrison squares off against Croatian veteran Ivo Karlovic in a Round of 16 match. South Africa's Kevin Anderson, who reached the finals of last year's US Open, is the No. 1 seed at the New York Open. He will face unseeded American Ernesto Escobedo in his next match.