Venus and Serena Williams are two of the greatest female athletes in history, but the president of the Russian Tennis Federation still went after their physical appearance despite their phenomenal play on the tennis court.
The Women's Tennis Associate (WTA) fined Shamil Tarpischev $25,000 and banned him from the women's tour for a year after he referred to the tennis players as "the Williams brothers," according to The Associated Press.
Tarpischev made the comments on a Russian talk show hosted by Ivan Urgant last week. Urgant started to ask the other guest, retired Russian tennis player Elena Dementieva, what it was like to "play against one of the..." but Tarpischev finished the question with "the Williams brothers" instead of the Williams sisters.
The Russian tennis boss added it was "frightening" to look at the pro tennis players. The host Urgant also added his own barb.
"I have tremendous respect for them (the Williams) but once one of the sisters passed next to me and I found myself in her shadow for about 40 seconds," he said, according to the New York Daily News.
WTA Tour chairman and CEO Stacey Allastar admonished Tarpischev's comments as "insulting and "demeaning" against "two of the greatest athletes in the history of woman's tennis."
"Mr. Tarpischev's statements questioning their genders tarnish our great game and two of our champions," Allaster said in a statement on Oct. 17. "His derogatory remarks deserve to be condemned and he will be sanctioned."
Tarpischev claims his remarks were meant as a joke. Many have asked him to issue a formal apology, but he doesn't understand the need for such a harsh punishment against him.
"I didn't want to offend any athlete with my words," he said in a statement. "I regret that this joke ... has garnered so much attention. I don't think this incident deserves so much fuss."
Tarpischev has overseen the Kremlin Cup, the only WTA event in Russia, for all 18 years it's been on the tour. He's also a member of the Olympic International Committee and was the personal tennis coach to the former Russian President Boris Yeltsin during the 1990s.
