Serena Williams Fires Back At Russian Official Over ‘Sexist and Racist’ Remarks

With how the world captures everything these days from social media to cellular phones, everyone must be cautious of what to say especially in front of live television. This is the lesson learned by Russian Tennis Federation President Shamil Tarpischev when he described Serena and Venus Williams as the "Williams brothers" during a live television chat show.

Women's tennis numbe one-ranked player has already responded through a press conference held before the start of the WTA Finals in Singapore by slamming Tarpischev for his insensitive, racist and sexist comments. She expressed discontent over the remarks made by the official over live broadcast and further described the incident as "bullying."

"I thought they were very insensitive and extremely sexist as well as racist at the same time," Williams said per BBC. "I thought they were in a way bullying. I've done the best that I can do, and that's all I can say. So I just wasn't very happy with his comments."

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has already acted upon the controversy by suspending Tarpischev for 12 months and ordering a fine of 15,500 pounds, a decision that was applauded by the American tennis superstar. Williams commended the WTA for its swift action on the matter, a move that can even escalate to as far as removing the official as chairman of the Kremlin Cup tournament. This could possibly end the Russian's 18-year reign as head of the event as well as jeopardize his membership in the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Tarpischev has long been involved in Russian tennis dating back to 1990s when he served as tennis coach to then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Due to the extensive media coverage of the issue, Tarphischev has claimed that things have been blown out of proportion and many have misinterpreted his statement. He reiterated that he did not mean to cause offence to anyone and was apologetic of the "joke" he made that became offensive when translated from his native tongue.

Many have already joined in the move to slam the comments of Tarpischev including Williams' long-time rival and Russian Maria Sharapova and United States Tennis Association, which already termed the comments as "reprehensible." Williams is now moving on from the incident and is preparing for the final tournaments of a remarkable 2014 where she has already captured six titles including one grand slam event, the U.S. Open. The year-end competition in Singapore will start Monday, which will pit the 33-year-old player against Ana Ivanovic, Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard who are all in her bracket.