Ion Țiriac (; born 9 May 1939), also known as the "Brașov Bulldozer", is a Romanian businessman and former professional

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He has been president of the

Romanian Tennis Federation The Romanian Tennis Federation (FRT) (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Federația Română de Tenis'') is the governing body of tennis in Romania founded in 1912 and became a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in the same year. It i ...

. A former singles top 10 player on the

ATP Tour The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...

, he was active from 1958 to 1979 and won 34 career singles titles. Tiriac was the winner of one grand slam title, the 1970 French Open in men's doubles. Țiriac was the first man to play against a woman and defeat her, in a sanctioned tennis tournament (against Abigail Maynard, in 1975). The highlight of his ice hockey career was participating as a defenseman in the Romanian national team at the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...

. After retirement, Tiriac became active as a tennis coach, advisor and player agent in the 1980s, taking under his wing

Ilie Năstase Ilie Theodoriu Năstase (; born 19 July 1946) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the inaugural world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 40 weeks. Năstase is one of ten play ...

Manuel Orantes Manuel Orantes Corral (; born 6 February 1949) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He won 36 career singles titles, including the 1975 US Open, defeating defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a career-high ...

Adriano Panatta Adriano Panatta (born 9 July 1950) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He won the French Open in 1976 French Open – Men's singles, 1976, becoming the first Italian man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major ...

Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was the world No. 1 of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He won 62 singles titles and 16 doubles titles during ...

Henri Leconte Henri Leconte (; born 4 July 1963) is a French former professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991. During ...

and the young

Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (; born 22 November 1967) is a German former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Becker won 49 c ...

. Later, Țiriac developed the Mutua Madrid Open ATP masters tennis tournament, which he has owned from 2009 to 2021. In 2013, he was elected as contributor into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

. He has been managing French tennis player

Lucas Pouille Lucas Pouille (, born 23 February 1994) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 10, achieved on 19 March 2018 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 79, achieved on 11 April 2016. ...

since December 2016. As a tennis player, Tiriac played dramatic five-setters against

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz t ...

Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s. Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...

and

. His singles record includes wins over

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...

Roscoe Tanner Leonard Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is an American former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on July 30, 1979. Tanner won 16 titles throughout his career. Tanner was famous for his big ...

, Andrés Gimeno,

and

Niki Pilić __NOTOC__ Niki may refer to: People * Niki (given name) * Niki (singer) * Ni-Ki, member of the South Korean boy band Enhypen. Places * Niki, Hokkaido, a town in Japan * Niki, Florina, a village in Greece Other uses * Niki (airline), former ...

. He played three

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

finals (in 1969, 1971 and 1972). As of April 2022, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' ranked him as the third- richest person in Romania with a net worth of $1.6 billion.

Sports career

Țiriac was born in

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

, which is probably the reason why he has the nickname 'Count Dracula'. The first sport he practiced, as a child was

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. Afterwards he played ice hockey as a

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, winning a Romanian Hockey League title with CCA București in 1961, he also played for Știința București. Țiriac represented Romania's ice hockey team at the 1961 Ice Hockey World Championships where he was used by player-coach Zoltan Czaka in five games in which he scored five goals as the team finished on the 15th place. He was called up by coach Mihai Flamaropol to be in Romania's squad at the

. Shortly after that he switched to tennis as his main sport. With fellow Romanian

he won the men's doubles in the 1970 French Open and reached the

finals several times in the 1970s.

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourt ...

wrote of him that his drooping mustache suggests "that this man has been to places most people do not imagine exist. He appears to be a panatela ad, a triple agent from Alexandria, a used-car salesman from central Marrakesh. Tiriac has the air of a man who is about to close a deal in a back room behind a back room." Țiriac participated in the short period during the 1970s when women participated in established men's tennis tournaments. In his first match he defeated Abigail Maynard 6–0, 6–0 in their round one match at

USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and devel ...

pro circuit's Fairfield County International Tennis Championship. It was the first time ever a female had entered a men's tournament.

Executive roles

After his retirement, he served as coach and manager for players such as

Mary Joe Fernández Mary Joe Fernández Godsick (born María José Fernández; August 19, 1971) is an American former professional tennis player, who reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in both singles and doubles. In singles, Fernández was the runner-up ...

Goran Ivanišević Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He was ranked world No. 2 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 1994. Ivanišević won 22 ATP To ...

and

Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; ; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian former professional tennis player and former politician. He was ranked as the List of ...

. He became the

sports agent A sports agent is a legal representative (hence agent (law), agent) for professional sports figures such as athletes and coaches. They procure and negotiate employment and Testimonial, endorsement contracts for the principal (commercial law), at ...

and managed his career from 1984 to 1993. Țiriac was president of the

Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee The Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (, COSR) is responsible for Romania's participation in the Olympic Games. History The Romanian Olympic Committee () was formed in 1914 in Bucharest. In 2004 it changed its name to ''Romanian Olympic an ...

from 1998 to 2004. Țiriac ran major men's events in Germany, including the season-ending championships in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. Although tennis is now a much smaller part of his portfolio and occupies only 5 percent of his time, he has taken particular pleasure and pride in making Madrid Tennis Open a combined men's and women's event with €7.2 million in total prize money. The trophy awarded to the tournament winner bears his name. Țiriac also held the license for the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy tennis tournament since 1996, until its last edition in 2016, before the tournament being relocated to Budapest. In 2012, Țiriac was nominated for the

in the contributor category. On 13 July 2013, Țiriac joined the

as a successful promoter and tournament director for numerous events including two of the largest Masters 1000 events, the Italian Open and the Madrid Masters.

Business career

After his retirement as a professional tennis player, Țiriac became a businessman in (then West) Germany. In 1987, he appeared in a TV commercial for

Miller Lite Miller Lite is a 4.2% ABV reduced calorie light American lager beer produced by Molson Coors. It was introduced in 1973 in limited markets by the Miller Brewing Company (then owned by Philip Morris, Inc.) and began being distributed nationa ...

beer with

Bob Uecker Robert George Uecker ( ; January 26, 1934 – January 16, 2025) was an American professional baseball catcher and sportscaster who served as the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 54 seasons. He ...

, who extols Țiriac's supposed humorous qualities, laughing hysterically while Țiriac sits stone-faced. In reality, Țiriac was popular and outgoing, especially when he served as player/coach of the Boston Lobsters of

World Team Tennis World TeamTennis (WTT) was a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally took place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA would ...

in the 1970s. In Germany, Țiriac met another Romanian businessman, Dan Petrescu. Țiriac and Petrescu became economic partners and collaborated in the development of several companies in the following years. Following the collapse of communism in Romania, Țiriac started numerous businesses and investments back home. In 1990, he founded Ion Țiriac Bank, the first private bank in post-Communist Romania. Between that and several other enterprises (retail, insurance, auto leasing, auto dealerships, airlines, etc.), his fortune was estimated at over US$900 million in 2005. Țiriac is an avid car collector. The Tiriac Collection represents the exhibition of cars and motorcycles under his ownership. Reopened to the public in May 2015, the collection includes historical vehicles manufactured since 1899 and also modern exotics with about 350 cars and 165 cars at full time display on a rotation basis. Visitors will find the only collection in the world with 2 Rolls-Royce Phantoms IV, as well as exhibits that previously belonged to great names such as Sir

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, Sammy Davis Jr. or

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is a British business magnate, motorsport executive and former racing driver. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the c ...

. In 2006, Țiriac was selected as one of the 100 Greatest Romanians, ranking #77. Ion Țiriac became the first Romanian to enter

List of billionaires ''The World's Billionaires'' is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine ''Forbes''. The list was first published in March 1987. ...

in the 2007 Forbes rankings, ranking 840th in the world. His wealth was estimated at $1.0 billion as of 2010, according to the magazine. In 2010, TOP 300 Capital declared Ion Țiriac the richest man in Romania with a wealth estimated at €1.5–€1.6 billion ($2–$2.2 billion). In 2018, Ion Țiriac ranked #1867 on the ''Forbes'' World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at US$1.2 billion.

Personal life

Țiriac was married to Erika Braedt, a

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

player, between 1963 and 1965. He has a son, Ion Țiriac Jr., with Mikette von Issenberg, a fashion model; and further two children, Karim Mihai and Ioana Natalia, with Sophie Ayad, an Egyptian journalist. According to Cinemagia, he dubbed the character Kron for the Romanian version of

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

Doubles 2 (1–1)

Grand Prix and WCT Tour finals

Singles (2–1)

Doubles (23–24)

;Key

Performance timeline

Stamps of Romania, 2015-085.jpg, Ion Tiriac - 1972 Tiriac Smith in finala Cupei Davis01.jpg,

Companies

* Țiriac Holdings * ȚiriacAIR
Allianz-Țiriac Asigurări RomâniaȚiriacAutoȚiriac LeasingTir Travel
(formerly Țiriac Travel)

References

Selected publications

* *

External links

* * * *
Forbes World's Billionaires #840
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tiriac, Ion 1939 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Ice hockey players at the 1964 Winter Olympics International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Romanian ice hockey players Steaua Rangers players Olympic ice hockey players for Romania Sportspeople from Brașov Romanian billionaires Romanian businesspeople Romanian male tennis players Summer World University Games medalists in tennis People named in the Panama Papers FISU World University Games gold medalists for Romania FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Romania French Open champions Medalists at the 1961 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade Presidents of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee Presidents of the Romanian Tennis Federation 20th-century Romanian sportsmen Car collectors