ITF launches Nastase investigation after Serena comments

He then appeared to call Great Britain captain Anne Keothavong and Konta “f***ing b******”. A formal investigation is already underway and any decision or sanction will be made by the ITF’s Adjudication Panel.

The controversy in Romania overshadowed what was meant to be the weekend’s main Fed Cup business – the semi-finals where Belarus and Switzerland are locked at 1-1 while the United States are also level against defending champions Czech Republic.

Ms Crooks told Sky News that Nastase had stormed into the press centre at the Tenis Club IDU in the Romanian city looking for British reporters.

Gazeta Sporturilor quoted Steaua Bucharest sporting director Mihai Stoica as saying: “Ilie Nastase is perhaps the most talented sportsman in the history of Romanian sports and it hurts me when a man of such value – because he did nothing – can be attacked”.

Tennis player Pam Shriver of the United States walks onto the courts prior to her match at the women 1978 U.S. Open Tennis Tournament.

Sunday’s second singles rubber was briefly suspended with British world number seven Johanna Konta in tears, apparently because of remarks made by Nastase.

Last month, Nastase also made controversial comments about Williams, when the former World No. 1 made allegations of doping by Williams based entirely on her physique. Sabalenka, who is 125 in the world, won 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 over the 54th-ranked Golubic to give Belarus an unassailable 3-1 advantage.

“It was just unfortunate that I think the crowd took initiative from the Romanian captain’s behavior”, Konta said, according to the Sun. And then when she comes back on court she says, ‘I’m sorry, ‘ so she knew she exaggerated.

“I am 71 years old” – though he does not turn that age until July – “I am no longer a sportsman”, he said.

“When I got older, perhaps 20, and he asked me for about the 30th time, I said, ‘would you please stop asking me that?'” Shriver said, adding that, “he never asked me again”.

“You walk out onto court as a tennis player expecting to be in a safe environment and expecting to be playing against a partisan crowd – that’s understandable – but you don’t expect to be verbally abused when you’re out there just trying to do your job”.

The world number five said: “Yes I had extra motivation because in my opinion the public was very fair yesterday, they didn’t say anything bad, they just were supporting us, like today, and I want to thank them for being close to us even if this situation”.

“I think you guys try to put too much negative things on the table”.

Crooks later tweeted that Nastase confronted her for a second time and called her “ugly”.

“Any abuse is not all right – whether it’s on social media – but when it’s a couple of metres away from you, screaming at you, I think that’s a different ball game”. ‘Unfortunately I can’t take them on the plane home with me’.