BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – Madrid Open organizer Ion Tiriac said Tuesday he won’t award any more trophies at his tournament because he is upset by the way his friend Ilie Nastase has been treated by the WTA.
In an open letter to WTA CEO Steve Simon, Tiriac said he has decided not to hand out gold, diamond and solid silver replicas to winners of the women’s event following “aggressive public commentaries” by the WTA.
Romanian player Simona Halep won the Madrid Open in May. Nastase was photographed next to her during the trophy presentation, three weeks after the Romanian Fed Cup captain was ejected from the event for directing verbal abuse at the British team.
After Simon called Nastase’s presence “irresponsible and unacceptable,” Tiriac said the WTA should apologize to Nastase.
The 70-year-old Nastase has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Federation following his comments about the color of Serena Williams’ unborn baby and for his foul-mouthed outbursts during the Fed Cup in Romania. Williams called Nastase’s comments toward her racist and his verbal abuse of players as sexist.