Serena Williams Responds to Shamil Tarpischev's Insensitive Comments

After the head of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpischev, called Serena and Venus Williams "brothers," the WTA quickly reacted by suspending him for a year and fining him $25,000.  

And as Serena Williams told The Associated Press, via ESPN, the punishment was an appropriate and necessary response:

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'I think the WTA did a great job of taking [the] initiative and taking immediate action to his comments,' Williams said Sunday in Singapore ahead of her WTA Finals defense. '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.'

Asked whether he regretted his comments, Tarpischev told The Associated Press on Saturday at the Kremlin Cup that the program on which he spoke was 'a humorous show.' When asked about his ban, Tarpischev said: 'I can't comment. I don't understand it.'

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WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster noted, per ESPN, "The statements made by Shamil Tarpischev on Russian television with respect to two of the greatest athletes in the history of women's tennis are insulting, demeaning and have absolutely no place in our sport."

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Indeed, suggesting that two women in peak physical condition and two of the legends in women's tennis are somehow "manly" is to suggest that athleticism and muscle tone are solely masculine features. Thousands of female athletes—and the many men and women who support those athletes and are inspired by them—would beg to differ. 

Tarpischev may have thought he was simply making a joke, but instead what he was uprooting was a far more complex issue. Many female athletes struggle to earn the same sort of respect as their male counterparts; they are also fighting to show that femininity and beauty aren't restricted to the delicate or dainty, but can be represented in athleticism and physical strength.

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In that regard, it would seem that Tarpischev indeed doesn't "understand it." The Williams sisters certainly do. And thankfully, Allaster and the WTA understand it, too.