--- description: Russian Tennis Federation head Shamil Tarpischev called the Williams sisters the "Williams brothers" title: Serena Williams Responds to 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Remarks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc66a47f5732a744/6987619835ba6f8261c0487f/457475160.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [tennis](/tag/tennis/) ## tennis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Serena Williams Blasts Official's 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Remarks  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2014 8:01 PM CUT  World number one Serena Williams of the US attends a press conference ahead of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) championships in Singapore on October 19, 2014\. World number one Serena Williams lashed out at "sexist" and racist" comments from the head of Russian tennis October 19 after he jokingly called her and her sister Venus the "Williams brothers". AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images) World number one Serena Williams of the US attends a press conference ahead of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) championships in Singapore on October 19, 2014\. World number one Serena Williams lashed out at "sexist" and racist" comments from the head of Russian tennis October 19 after he jokingly called her and her sister Venus the "Williams brothers". AFP PHOTO / ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)ROSLAN RAHMAN—AFP/Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2014 8:01 PM CUT Tennis star Serena Williams commended the Women’s Tennis Association for disciplining the head of the Russian Tennis Federation for his [“sexist as well as racist”](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/10/19/serena-williams-rips-russian-tennis-official-for-sexist-racist-comments/ "undefined") remarks on a Russian television program. The WTA suspended Shamil Tarpischev for a year and fined him $25,000 after he referred to Williams and her sister, fellow tennis champion Venus Williams, as the “Williams brothers” and said “it’s scary when you really look at them,” the Washington _Post_ reports. “I think the WTA did a great job of taking initiative and taking immediate action to his comments,” Williams said in Singapore on Sunday at the WTA Tour Finals. “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. ” Tarpischev, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, said the comments were a “joke” in a statement. “I didn’t want to offend any athlete with my words,” he said. “I regret that this joke has garnered so much attention. I don’t think this incident deserves so much fuss.” \[[_Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2014/10/19/serena-williams-rips-russian-tennis-official-for-sexist-racist-comments/ "undefined")\] Serena Williams Fires Back Over 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Remarks ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3522553/serena-williams-sexist-racist-shamil-tarpischev/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3522553/serena-williams-sexist-racist-shamil-tarpischev/"},"headline":"Serena Williams Blasts Official's 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Remarks","datePublished":"2014-10-19T20:01:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:52:36.388Z","description":"Russian Tennis Federation head Shamil Tarpischev called the Williams sisters the \"Williams brothers\" and added \"it's scary when you really look at them\"","url":"https://time.com/3522553/serena-williams-sexist-racist-shamil-tarpischev/","keywords":["tennis","serena williams"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc66a47f5732a744/6987619835ba6f8261c0487f/457475160.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc66a47f5732a744/6987619835ba6f8261c0487f/457475160.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TENNIS-WTA-SIN","caption":"TENNIS-WTA-SIN","creditText":"ROSLAN RAHMAN—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tennis/","name":"tennis"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3522553/serena-williams-sexist-racist-shamil-tarpischev/","name":"Serena Williams Blasts Official's 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Remarks"}}]}] ```