Article by Adrian Duţă – Published Friday, January 23, 2026, 6:37 p.m. / Updated Friday, January 23, 2026, 6:41 p.m.
Ion Țiriac (86 years old) raged at Naomi Osaka (28 years old, #17 WTA), the who defeated Sorana Cîrstea (35 years old, 41st place WTA at the Australian Open, score 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
The billionaire was disturbed by the outfit chosen by the Japanese woman. Osaka wore a green and blue kit. Șiriac compared her equipment to a “circus” one and believes that the famous manufacturer sponsoring the Japanese made a blunder.
Țiriac also recalled the time when tennis players were no longer required to wear white clothes. Currently, the tradition is preserved only at Wimbledon.
Ion Țiriac: “How is it possible for my friend from Nike, the boss, whom I know, to wear an outfit like this?”
“For me it's another big question. How far does this great inconstancy that exists in the sport called tennis go? I remember, and I tell you stories from 50 years ago or so, when the white sport ended and it was a shock for all of us. Ask Mr. “Tănase”, that I used to play doubles with you, or Năstase, as he is called.
The week after they released the colors and I don't know what, we showed up in the United States, I don't remember where, in pajamas. And they said “This is forbidden”. “Do not write anywhere”.
Now I ask you and I take it the other way: how is it possible that my friend from Nike, the boss, that I know, makes an outfit like this? Where are we, at the Struţki circus?“, declared Ion Țiriac, at Otopeni airport, according to as.ro.
Șiriac: “Sorana committed a capital mistake”
Also, Țiriac charged the medical time-out taken by Naomi Osaka in the decisive set. He believes that Sorana Cîrstea should have protested seeing how long it takes the Japanese to return to the field.
“From what I saw, Sorana made a capital mistake. The moment she went to the locker room, she had the right to 4-5 minutes. She came back after 22 minutes. If I were Sorana, after 10 minutes, not after 4, I would take my rackets, I would say, “Thank you, the regulation was not respected, I went home”.
On the other hand, we all know Osaka. The one who won the US Open is no longer there. But that's okay. As long as there are these rules that are confusing and allow this…
Sorana played well, played like the world, had a goal after that half hour. After that, the whole thing went away. I haven't seen everything, so I can't give my opinion”, said Țiriac about his son's girlfriend.
It's always too early to retire. As long as you are competitive… I made the mistake of letting Vilas retire far too late. When you reach number 150, it's only a wild-card. This is not the case with Sorana. Sorana, as it is today, ranks 30-40, without problems. If she wants to stay, it's her choice.
– Ion Țiriac
