Serena Williams has reacted furiously to comments by the head of the Russian Tennis Federation referring to her and sister, Venus as ‘brothers.’
The Tennis star said the statements were ‘bullying, sexist and racist,’ stating her support for the one-year suspension imposed by the WTA against the official, Shamil Tarpischev.
Apart from the ban, the Russian was also fined $25,000 for making the comments on Russian television with Tarpischev having also said the sisters were ‘scary’ to look at.
‘I think the WTA did a great job of taking (the) initiative and taking immediate action to his comments,’ Serena said on Sunday, October 19, 2014 in Singapore.
‘I thought they (the statements) were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time. I thought they were in a way bullying,’ she added.
Asked whether he regretted his comments, Tarpischev told The Associated Press on Saturday at the Kremlin Cup that the programme on which he spoke was ‘a humorous show’ and when asked about his ban, he said: ‘I can’t comment. I don’t understand it.‘
In a statement released later by the Russian Tennis Federation, Tarpischev denied any ‘malicious intent’ and said his quotes had been taken out of context.
