Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian is extremely devoted to his wife and family. The American was extremely irritated by Ion Tiriac’s remarks when he said that Serena should retire as she is not as agile as she used to be in the past.
Ion commented:
“At this age and the weight she is now, she does not move as easily as she did 15 years ago. Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire.”
Serena defeated Simona Halep in the Australian Open quarter final playing a truly outstanding match showing off footwork that is definitely not usual for a 39-year-old. After the match, Alexis took aim at Tiriac to tweet: “Good thing no one listens to that racist sexist (clown) Tiriac.”Â
Good thing no one listens to that racist sexist 🤡 Ion Țiriac https://t.co/Dz0LVephE0
— Alexis Ohanian 🇦🇲 (@alexisohanian) February 16, 2021
Ion Tiriac’s son Alexandru was unimpressed by Alexis’ remarks to send this composed open letter.
“To Mrs. Williams’s husband.
I have read your tweet with a mix of disbelief and disgust.
The Tiriac name has a 70-year-old tradition in the world of sport and the Gentleman you are referring to has written a few important chapters that have contributed to the book of Tennis along these decades.
From player, to coach, to manager, to tournament promoter, the well-respected person you are bad wording in these degrading terms has been and still is, at the age of 82, one of the strongest advocates of this sport.
The respect that he has for Mrs. Williams is tremendous as it should be, she is and will be remembered through time among one of the top 20-25 players that have highly contributed to this sport. She has a personality that opened doors to many younger generations of athletes in all fields of sports and social walks of life. For all these reasons we are all very grateful to her.
Mr. Williams, the only reason I will reply to your unnecessary tweet is that words are easily used and misinterpreted in today’s world through the various platforms in existence.
Free speech should not be wrongly replaced with inappropriate slander.
In my humble opinion, and to use a well-known quote, “with great power comes great responsibility”. As Mrs. William’s husband you no longer only represent your own opinions when you talk about sports, but also the voice of an Icon. It would be a real shame to cast an erroneous image on her legacy through emotional baseless tweets.
I hope that through these few sentences I can bring some wisdom to your future misguided public declarations, and maybe some due respect to a self-made man who is a true lover and a lifelong contributor to this sport.
Congrats to Serena, very well deserved, keep going forward and writing history in such a wonderful career!
Alexandru Tiriac”
. @alexisohanian pic.twitter.com/D2MkuTVqmO
— ion alexandru tiriac (@AlexandruTiriac) February 16, 2021
Serena Williams at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2021
Ranked no.11, Serena achieved an overall 8-0 win-loss record in 2021. Serena is currently having a run at the Australian Open where she beat Laura Siegemund 6-1 6-1, Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-0, Anastasia Potapova 7-65 6-2, Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 2-6 6-4 and Simona Halep 6-3 6-3.
Serena Williams will fight against Osaka in the semifinal. Their current record is 2-1 for Osaka.
Serena Williams won 73 titles in her career: 43 on hard courts, 13 on clay courts, 7 on indoor courts, 2 on carpet courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
