Famous Romanian tennis player and investor Ion Tiriac could be the second Romanian to be included in the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013. Tiriac, 73, is among the nominees for the the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2013, which will be announced on March 4, as part of World Tennis Day. Tiriac would then join another Romanian tennis player, Ilie Nastase, who was included in the Hall of Fame in 1991. There are currently 224 Hall of Famers.

Ion Tiriac, “the Romanian tennis player turned influential player manager and tournament promoter”, shares the nomination list with Martina Hingis, a former world No. 1 and the winner of five Grand Slam tournament singles titles. More about the other nominees for induction this year here. 

In the 1970s, Tiriac and fellow Romanian Ilie Nastase partnered to form a successful doubles team, which won the French Open doubles title. Tiriac went on to manage the careers of top players including Guillermo Vilas, Mary Joe Fernandez, Goran Ivanisevic, and most notably, Boris Becker, who won five Grand Slam titles while working with Tiriac. He continues to promote tennis in Romania and is the owner/promoter of the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy, an ATP World Tour 250 event held annually in Bucharest.

“Known for his no-nonsense demeanor, beneath Tiriac's tough shell lies the heart of a philanthropist and the vision and ability to make positive changes. In addition to his tennis work, since the fall of the communist government in Romania in 1989, he has worked to rebuild the country's economic and social infrastructure, developing business in banking, real estate, and other ventures,” according to the Hall of Fame committee. Tiriac is an Honorary President of the Romanian National Olympic Committee and an Honorary President of the Romanian Tennis Federation.

Established in 1954, the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum is a non-profit institution dedicated to preserving the history of tennis, inspiring and encouraging junior tennis development. The Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, where the awards ceremony will be organized in July for the class of 2013.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Tennis Hall of Fame)