Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Russian Tennis Federation president fined for 'Williams brothers' comments

Shamil Tarpischev fined $25000 and banned from women's tour after referring to Serena and Venus Williams as 'the Williams brothers' on TV chat show

Marc Williams
Saturday 18 October 2014 13:19 BST
Comments
Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev
Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpischev

Shamil Tarpischev, the Russian Tennis Federation president, has been fined $25000 for calling Serena and Venus Williams ‘the Williams brothers’ on a TV chat show.

Tarpischev has also received a year-long ban from any involvement with the women’s tour for his comments which he claims were just a ‘joke’ and meant with no ‘malice’.

Women's Tennis Association chief executive Stacy Allaster said that the comments were ‘insulting, demeaning and have absolutely no place in our sport’.

She said: "Mr Tarpischev's statements questioning their genders tarnish our great game and two of our champions.

"His derogatory remarks deserve to be condemned and he will be sanctioned."

Serena Williams and Venus Williams play in a women's doubles match at the 2014 US Open

Tarpischev released a statement saying: "I didn't want to offend any athlete with my words. I regret that this joke has garnered so much attention. I don't think this incident deserves so much fuss."

He added that he believed the Williams sisters are ‘outstanding athletes who personify strength and perseverance’.

Serena, 33, is world number one and has won 18 Grand Slams, while her 34-year-old sister Venus has won seven.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in