Serena Williams finally broke her silence in response to the controversial comments of Russian tennis czar Shamil Tarpischev, calling such a sexist, racist and a form of bullying during a presser ahead of the 2014 WTC Championships.
Williams, 33, lauded the Women’s Tennis Associations (WTA) for placing a $25,000 fine and a one-year suspension on Russian Tennis Federation president and Kremlin Cup head organizer Shamil Tarpischev, who called Serena and Venus the Williams Brothers during an appearance on a talk show in Russia.
"I think the WTA did a great job of taking [the] initiative and taking immediate action to his comments," Williams told reporters on Sunday in Singapore ahead of her WTA Finals defense.
Not a stranger to racist comments, Williams described the Russian tennis head’s comments as very insensitive and extremely sexist. She also called it a form of bullying.
"I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were in a way bullying," said Williams, who are preparing to defend her title for the third straight time at the 2014 WTA Finals.
Russian darling Maria Sharapova also supported the WTA for the punishment on her compatriot, as she believed Tarpischev’s remarks have no place in the sport.
"I think they were very disrespectful and uncalled for, and I'm glad that many people have stood up, including the WTA. It was very inappropriate, especially in his position and all the responsibilities that he has not just in sport, but being part of the Olympic committee," said Sharapova, who has a chance to steal the world’s no.1 ranking from Williams at the year-end tourney.
Williams, already with four WTA championship around her belt, recently became the fourth longest reigning world’s no.1 female player in history by going 210 weeks on top of the ladder, moving her past old rival Martina Hingis and just behind Chris Evert Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graff.
Williams’ presence at the WTA finals was previously in question after she suffered a knee injury at the Wuhan Open 2014. However, negative MRI and several solid training sessions allowed her to participate at the year-ending tourney.
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