Personal Life:
Between 1963 and 1965, Țiriac was married to Erika Braedt, a handball player.
He has a son, Ion Țiriac Jr., with Mikette von Issenberg who was a fashion model; and further he had two children Karim Mihai and Ioana Natalia, with an Egyptian journalist Sophie Ayad.
After retirement, he became an active tennis coach, advisor, and player agent in the 1980s, taking under his wing Ilie Năstase, Manuel Orantes, Adriano Panatta, Guillermo Vilas, Henri Leconte, and the young Boris Becker. Later, Țiriac grew the Mutua Madrid Open ATP Masters tennis tournament, which is owned by him. He was elected as a contributor to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in 2013. He is currently managing French tennis player Lucas Pouille since December 2016.
Professional Life:
Ion Țiriac, also known as the ‘Brașov Bulldozer is a Romanian businessman and a former professional tennis and ice hockey player. Currently, he is the president of the Romanian Tennis Federation.
He is the winner of one grand slam title, the 1970 French Open in men’s doubles, and is a former single top 10 player on the ATP Tour. Țiriac was the first man to play against a woman and defeat her in one set in a sanctioned tennis tournament ( in 1975) against Abigail Maynard. Participating as a defenseman in the Romanian national team at the 1964 Winter Olympics was the highlight of his ice hockey career.
He played dramatic 5 setters against Rod Laver, Stan Smith, Jan Kodeš, or Manuel Orantes as a tennis player. His single records include wins over Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Roscoe Tanner, Manuel Orantes, Andrés Gimeno, Adriano Panatta, or Niki Pilić. He never won against competitors like Năstase in their six meetings. Tiriac played 3 Davis Cup finals (in 1969, 1971, and 1972).
According to Forbes magazine, he is ranked as the third richest businessman from Romania.
Awards & Achievements:
Tiriac won 294 matches including 22 titles as a doubles player and 167 matches as a singles player.
