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Ion Tiriac: From Romanian player to the richest figure in tennis

Ion Tiriac: Romanian player turned billionaire, tournament owner and banker reshaped modern tennis..

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Ion Tiriac’s reach in tennis spans six decades and a business empire that places him above the sport’s most famous names in wealth. Born in Brasov in 1939, Tiriac built a playing career in the 1960s and 1970s: he is reported to have won 34 singles titles and reached the French Open men’s singles quarter-final in 1968. His greatest achievements came in doubles, where he and Ilie Nastase were runners-up at the 1966 French Championships and lifted the French Open men’s doubles title in 1970. He was part of the Romanian team that reached three Davis Cup Finals in 1969, 1971, and 1972, and he finished runner-up in the 1979 French Open mixed doubles alongside Virginia Ruzici.

Tiriac also represented Romania in ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. He retired from the tour in 1979 but remained deeply involved in tennis as a coach, manager and tournament owner. He managed a string of high-profile players, beginning with Nastase, and was Boris Becker’s manager from 1984 to 1993. He worked with Marat Safin, Goran Ivanisevic, and Mary Joe Fernandez. Off court he ran the ATP Finals when it was held in Hanover from 1996-1999 and owned the Madrid Open from 2009 until 2021, selling the tournament to IMG for €390 million. The Tiriac Open, an ATP 250 event in Bucharest, is named in his honour.

Outside tennis his business interests include retail, aviation and automobiles, and his biggest success came in banking. He launched the Ion Tiriac Bank in 1990, now known as UniCredit Bank in Romania, the first private bank founded in the country after the fall of the communist regime.

Tiriac was first listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 2007 with a projected net worth of $1b. As of July 2025, Forbes estimates that the 86-year-old has a net worth of $2.3b and ranks him as the 1,678th richest person in the world. He is listed among seven billionaire athletes alongside Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Junior Bridgeman; the latter passed away in March this year. Federer’s reported net worth of $1.1b remains well below Tiriac’s estimate, while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are listed at $240m and $220m respectively.

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Tiriac has also been a controversial voice in the sport. “Let’s not confuse business with human rights,” Tiriac told Le Monde in 2017.

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Shelton vs João Fonseca: BMW Open Quarterfinals Take Shape in Chilly Munich Play

Ben Shelton to face João Fonseca in BMW Open quarterfinal; Fonseca, Cobolli and Marozsan move on now

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Cool weather continued to be a factor at the BMW Open by Bitpanda, but results on court moved the tournament steadily forward with a high-profile quarterfinal pairing now set. Ben Shelton advanced to the last eight with a straight-sets win, and João Fonseca produced a commanding performance to join him.

Shelton beat Belgian wild card Alexander Blockx 6-4, 7-6(8) in the second round, firing four aces and winning 71 per cent of his second-service points in a match that lasted one hour and 46 minutes. It is his fifth quarterfinal of the season. “Finding ways to win points without just serving or hitting through him was key today,” Shelton said after reaching his fifth quarterfinal of the season.

Shelton and Fonseca will meet in a first tour-level encounter on Friday. “He is a very complete player for his age. We have never played on the tour, but I hit with him in Mallorca. He has a great forehand, moves well and plays well on the backhand, too. I am definitely looking to mix things up and use everything I have.” Shelton also joked about local football, saying, “I hope Bayern wins,” Shelton answered with a smile.

Fonseca opened Center Court with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 7 seed Arthur Rinderknech, saving all nine break points he faced and converting three of seven opportunities in a one hour and 21 minute match. The 19-year-old became the second teenager this decade to reach the Munich quarterfinals after Holger Rune in 2022 and 2023 and will be the first Brazilian in the Munich last eight since Thomaz Bellucci in 2014. “Saving the break points was key today,” Fonseca said after reaching his sixth ATP Tour quarterfinal of the season, his third at ATP 500 level. “I was super focused on today’s match, as I knew it was becoming difficult. Arthur is a player full of weapons, using serve and volley as well as drop shots.

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“I like to play aggressively, to attack and dominate the points. I was trying to do that when I was serving and returning. He was returning most of the time from the baseline, putting a lot of pressure on me. Overall, it was a tight match, and I am happy to be performing well during the important points.”

Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Flavio Cobolli beat Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-3 and will face Vit Kopriva next; Cobolli said, “When you win the first round but didn’t play well, you have the opportunity to do it better in the next one. That’s what I did today. I am happy about it because it wasn’t easy.” Fabian Marozsan also advanced with a three-set victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, reflecting on the change of conditions and his focus: “It was tough to refocus on a second day,” Marozsan said. “Yesterday, I managed to come back after losing the opening set. Conditions were different today, and Stefanos is a great player. The courts were a little soft with the bounces, but I just tried to focus on myself, and I am really happy to beat him in my second attempt.”

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Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, closing the ‘Murray era’ in doubles

Jamie Murray retires after 36 years, ending a career that included a doubles world No. 1 peak today.

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Jamie Murray confirmed his retirement on social media Wednesday, announcing that his long run in professional tennis is over. The former doubles world No. 1 and seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion posted images spanning his career and wrote that “[his] tennis journey [is coming] to an end after 36 years.”

In the message, Murray acknowledged the role his family played in his career. He thanked his mother Judy and his brother Andy for their support, saying their backing helped him “achieve everything I could in the game.” He added: “I feel very fortunate and privileged for all the amazing experiences this great sport has given me,” the 40-year-old wrote in the Instagram post.

Murray finishes his career with 34 tour-level titles, two of those won alongside his younger brother. The Murray pairing was central to Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup triumph, the country’s first Davis Cup victory in 79 years, with the brothers taking crucial doubles matches in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.

In 2016 Jamie reached a milestone for British doubles players by becoming the first British man to attain the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; he held that position for nine weeks. He also joined Andy as his doubles partner for Andy’s final Wimbledon tournament in 2024.

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The social post offered a reflective ending to a career that spanned more than two decades and encompassed Grand Slam titles, a stint at the top of the doubles rankings and a key role in a historic national team victory. Murray’s announcement marks the close of a defining presence in doubles competition and a notable chapter in recent British tennis history.

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Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy sells for more than $357,000 at auction

Becker’s 1989 US Open trophy brought more than $357,000, becoming the priciest trophy sale on sale.

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Nearly 40 years after he lifted it, Boris Becker’s 1989 US Open Men’s Singles trophy sold at auction for more than $357,000. The lot is now the most expensive tennis trophy ever sold and the second-most expensive piece of tennis memorabilia ever to reach the market, behind only Novak Djokovic’s racquet, which sold for $450,000 in February.

Prestige Memorabilia noted the rarity of the sale: “Such trophies virtually never leave the possession of the player who won them. To the best of our knowledge, this example represents the only known US Open Men’s Singles champion trophy from the Open Era ever to reach the public market.”

Becker received the sterling silver trophy after defeating Ivan Lendl in the 1989 final, a victory that represented his fourth Grand Slam title and his only US Open championship. Crafted by Tiffany & Co., the trophy had been on loan to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island before appearing at auction.

The trophy’s appearance on the market traces back to Becker’s bankruptcy proceedings. He was declared bankrupt in 2017 and, beginning in 2019, sold trophies and personal memorabilia to raise funds for creditors. Items reported as sold included the 1989 US Open trophy, a 1985 Wimbledon replica trophy, a 1988 Davis Cup trophy, and a Hall of Fame ring. The bankruptcy case led to criminal proceedings; Becker was convicted on four charges under the Insolvency Act, served a fast-tracked sentence in 2022, and was released in December 2022. During the London court proceedings he reportedly owed creditors $62.5 million and said a majority of his career trophies had been sold, gifted, or “lost,” leaving him unable to produce them for creditors.

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According to the auction lot description, the trophy stands 14 inches tall, is made of sterling silver, and bears the inscription: “United States Tennis Association / United States Open Tennis Championship / Men’s Singles / Boris Becker / 1989.”

© 2026 David Benito

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