Russian Tennis Federation President Fined — After Referring to Serena & Venus Williams As Men

Slick comments, will absolutely cost you — especially if you’re a public figure. Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev learned the hard way, after making comments about tennis champion sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Reportedly, Tarpischev has been fined $25,000 by the WTA Tour and suspended from tour involvement for a year for questioning the sisters’ gender. The entire incident, took place last week on Russian television. 

According to ESPN, Tarpischev and WTA player Elena Dementieva appeared on the Russian late-night show “Evening Urgant“. When Dementieva was asked what it was like to play against the Williams sisters, Tarpischev jumped in and referred to them as the “Williams brothers“.