"Dozens of players they could use"-Fans slam ATP Finals' Ilie Nastase decision as his seeming racial abuse of Serena Williams and daughter resurfaces 

Several fans have condemned the ATP's decision to name a group after Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase, recalling his reportedly racially insensitive remarks about Serena Williams and her daughter in 2017. Williams was pregnant with Olympia at the time, and Nastase made an offensive comment about the duo.

Williams, widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has faced racism and distasteful comments numerous times during her career. Despite this, the 43-year-old overcame these challenges and reshaped the landscape of women’s tennis, winning 23 Major titles, the second-most by any woman.

Six years ago, while 20 weeks pregnant with Olympia, the former World No. 1 witnessed a controversial incident. As per reports, during the 2017 Billie Jean King Cup press conference, Nastase made racial remarks, predicting the complexion of Williams' unborn baby and asking if it would be "Chocolate with milk?"

Subsequently, Williams expressed disappointment over Nastase's contentious remarks, highlighting the ongoing challenges in society.

“It disappoints me to know we live in a society in which people like Ilie Nastase can make such racist comments towards myself and unborn child, and sexist comments against my peers," she wrote on Instagram.

In the ongoing ATP Finals in Turin, a group featuring players like Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, and Taylor Fritz is named after Ilie Nastase. A fan recently highlighted his past racially motivated remarks towards Serena Williams, questioning the ATP's decision to honor him at the year-end championships.

The post later garnered the attention of several tennis fans who criticized ATP's decision. A fan wrote:

"It's embarrassing. There are literally dozens if not hundreds of players whose names they could use instead. It's a ... choice."

"Tennis has a racism problem," a fan said.

"Actually very on brand for the ATP," another commented.

Here are a few more reactions from the fans:

"was shocked when i saw it," a fan expressed.

"ATP has completely sold its soul to the devil," another wrote.

"exactly. they didn’t read the room. at all. revolting," a fan chimed in.

Notably, Williams won the Australian Open in 2017 while carrying her first daughter, Olympia. The former World No. 1 married tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian two months after Olympia's birth, and they welcomed their younger daughter Adira last year.

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When Serena Williams opened up about facing racist remarks during her career

Serena Williams at the Watermark Conference for Women Silicon Valley - Source: Getty

In an essay for Fortune Magazine, Serena Williams revealed the racial challenges she faced as a woman, which made it harder for her to achieve her dreams

"Growing up, I was told I couldn't accomplish my dreams -because I was a woman and, more so, because of the colour of my skin," Williams wrote

The 43-year-old explained how, through all the struggles she learned to stand up for herself and iterated:

"In every stage of my life, I've had to learn to stand up for myself and speak out. I have been treated unfairly, I've been disrespected by my male colleagues and - in the most painful times - I've been the subject of racist remarks on and off the tennis court," she added.

Despite the challenges, Williams demonstrated resilience, earning numerous accolades, including four Olympic gold medals and a career Golden Slam.