Ion Țiriac

Ion Țiriac
Born	(1939-05-09) May 9, 1939 Transylvania, Romania
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, former professional athlete (tennis, ice hockey)
Years active	1958–1979 (tennis player), 1961–1964 (ice hockey player), 1980s–present (sports management and business)
Known for	Former top 10 ATP tennis player, 1970 French Open men's doubles champion, Romanian Tennis Federation president, International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, Romanian billionaire businessman

Ion Țiriac (; born 9 May 1939), often referred to as the "Brașov Bulldozer," is a Romanian entrepreneur and former professional athlete in both tennis and ice hockey. He has also held the position of president at the Romanian Tennis Federation.

Țiriac was ranked among the top 10 singles players on the ATP Tour during his career, which spanned from 1958 until 1979, accumulating 34 singles titles. He claimed a Grand Slam victory in men's doubles at the 1970 French Open. Remarkably, he was the first male player to defeat a female competitor in an official tennis match, overcoming Abigail Maynard in 1975. In addition to tennis, he played as a defenseman for Romania's ice hockey team at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

Following his athletic career, Țiriac transitioned into coaching, advising, and sports management throughout the 1980s. He represented notable players such as Ilie Năstase, Manuel Orantes, Adriano Panatta, Guillermo Vilas, Henri Leconte, and an emerging Boris Becker. Later, he owned and developed the ATP Masters event, the Mutua Madrid Open, from 2009 through 2021. His contributions to tennis were recognized with induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013. Since December 2016, he has acted as manager for French professional Lucas Pouille.

Throughout his competitive years, Țiriac engaged in memorable five-set matches against elite players including Rod Laver, Stan Smith, Jan Kodeš, and Manuel Orantes. His singles victories feature wins over prominent opponents such as Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Roscoe Tanner, Orantes, Andrés Gimeno, Adriano Panatta, and Niki Pilić. He participated in three separate Davis Cup finals (1969, 1971, and 1972).

As of July 2025, Forbes lists him among Romania's richest individuals with an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion.

Sports career

Born in Transylvania, Ion Țiriac’s origins are thought to have inspired his nickname 'Count Dracula'. During his youth, he initially engaged in playing table tennis.

He subsequently took up ice hockey as a defenseman and secured a Romanian Hockey League championship with CCA București (Steaua Rangers) in 1961. Additionally, he played for Știința București. At the 1961 Ice Hockey World Championships, he represented Romania by scoring five goals across five games; the team finished in 15th place. He was also selected for Romania’s ice hockey squad at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

Soon after these achievements, Țiriac shifted his primary focus to tennis. Teaming up with fellow Romanian star Ilie Năstase, he captured the men's doubles crown at the 1970 French Open and reached multiple finals of the Davis Cup throughout the 1970s.

Tennis author John McPhee characterized him as possessing a mysterious aura, implying that he was well-versed in intricate negotiations and business dealings.

During the early 1970s, when women briefly competed in established men’s tennis tournaments, Țiriac played against Abigail Maynard at the USTA pro circuit’s Fairfield County International Tennis Championship. He won decisively with a score of 6–0, 6–0—marking the first occasion a female athlete participated in a men’s tournament.

Executive roles

Following retirement from professional play, Țiriac took on coaching and management roles for top-tier players including Ilie Năstase, Guillermo Vilas, Mary Joe Fernández, Goran Ivanišević, and Marat Safin. From 1984 until 1993, he served as sports agent for Boris Becker.

He held the presidency of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee between 1998 and 2004. Additionally, he orchestrated major men’s tennis competitions in Germany such as the ATP World Tour Finals held in Hanover. Although tennis now constitutes approximately only five percent of his business interests, he was instrumental in creating the combined men's and women's event known as the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, which featured €7.2 million in prize money—the tournament trophy is named after him.

Țiriac possessed the license for organizing the BRD Năstase Țiriac Trophy from its inception in 1996 until its transfer to Budapest in 2016. In recognition of his impact on tennis promotion and tournament direction—including events like the Italian Open and Madrid Masters—he was nominated for and inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.

Business career

Following his retirement from professional sports, Țiriac shifted his focus to business activities in West Germany, collaborating with Romanian entrepreneur Dan Petrescu. Together, they established several enterprises. After the collapse of communism, he initiated multiple business projects in Romania, notably founding Ion Țiriac Bank in 1990, which became the nation’s first private banking institution after the communist era. Over time, his business interests broadened to include sectors such as retail, insurance, automobile leasing, dealership networks, and aviation. By 2005, his net worth was estimated to exceed US$900 million.

As a passionate automobile enthusiast, Țiriac curated the Tiriac Collection, which features approximately 350 vehicles displayed on a rotating basis. This collection includes two exceptionally rare Rolls-Royce Phantom IV models and automobiles previously owned by famous personalities such as Sir Elton John and Bernie Ecclestone. The collection was made accessible to the public again in May 2015.

In 2006, he was recognized as #77 among the 100 Greatest Romanians. Ion Țiriac achieved the distinction of becoming Romania's inaugural billionaire on the Forbes Billionaires List in 2007, securing the #840 position globally with an estimated net worth of $1 billion by 2010. That same year, TOP 300 Capital identified him as Romania’s wealthiest individual, valuing his assets between €1.5 and €1.6 billion (approximately $2 to $2.2 billion). Forbes later assessed his fortune at $1.2 billion in 2018, placing him at #1867 worldwide.

Personal life

Țiriac was married to handball athlete Erika Braedt from 1963 until 1965. He fathered a son, Ion Țiriac Jr., with fashion model Mikette von Issenberg and has two additional children—Karim Mihai and Ioana Natalia—with Egyptian journalist Sophie Ayad.

Additionally, he provided the voice for the character Kron in the Romanian dubbed version of Dinosaur (2000).

Doubles 2 (1–1)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1966	French Championships	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Dennis Ralston Clark Graebner	3–6, 3–6, 0–6
Win	1970	French Open	Clay	Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3

Singles (2–1)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Aug 1970	Munich, Germany	Clay	Template:Country data YUGTemplate:Namespace detect showall Nikola Pilić	2–6, 9–7, 6–3, 6–4
Win	2–0	May 1971	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Template:Country data ROMTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	7–5, 6–1, 6–0
Loss	2–1	Feb 1972	Omaha, Nebraska, US	Hard (i)	Template:Country data ROMTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	6–2, 0–6, 1–6

Doubles (22–24)

Legend

Grand Slam events

Grand Prix Masters events

Group 1 level tournaments

Group 2 level tournaments

Team competitions

Outcome	W–L record	Date	Event	Surface type	Doubles partner	Opposing team	Match score
Victory	1–0	February 1970	Philadelphia WCT, United States	Carpet court	Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Dennis Ralston	6–4, 6–3
Victory	2–0	May 1970	French Open, Paris, France	Clay court	Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell	6–2, 6–4, 6–3
Victory	3–0	April 1970	Rome, Italy	Clay surface	Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall William Bowrey Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Owen Davidson	0–6, 10–8, 6–3, 6–8, 6–1
Defeat	3–1	July 1970	Washington, D.C., United States	Clay surface	Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Bob Hewitt Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Frew McMillan	5–7, 0–6
Victory	4–1	July 1970	Cincinnati, United States	Clay court	Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase	Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Bob Hewitt Template:Country data RSATemplate:Namespace detect showall Frew McMillan	6–3, 6–4

Outcome !W–L record !Date !Event !Surface !Partner !Opponents !Score
style="background:#ffa07a;" |Defeat |4–2 |July 1970 |style="background:#e9e9e9;" |1970 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships |Clay |Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase | Arthur Ashe Clark Graebner |6–2, 4–6, 4–6
style="background:#ffa07a;" |Defeat |4–3 |November 1970 |bgcolor=#d0f0c0 |1970 Embassy British Indoor Championships |Carpet |Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase |Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ken Rosewall Stan Smith |4–6, 3–6, 2–6
style="background:#98fb98;" |Victory |5–3 |March 1971 |Hampton Grand Prix |Indoor hardcourt |Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase | Clark Graebner Template:Country data BRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Thomaz Koch |6–4, 4–6, 7–5
style="background:#98fb98;" |Victory |6–3 |April 1971 |Monte-Carlo Masters |Clay surface |Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase |Template:Country data NEDTemplate:Namespace detect showall Tom Okker Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Roger Taylor |1–6, 6–3, 6–3, 8–6
style="background:#ffa07a;" |Defeat |6–4 |April 1971 |Palermo, Italy |Clay court |Template:Country data ROUTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ilie Năstase |Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Georges Goven Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Pierre Barthès |2–6, 3–6
style="background:#ffa07a;" |Defeat |6–5 ||May 1971 ||Brussels, Belgium ||Clay ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon USA Marty Riessen Template:Flagicon NED Tom Okker ||
style="background:#98fb98;"  ||Victory ||7–5 ||February 1972 ||Kansas City Open (tennis) ||Indoor court ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon ESP Andrés Gimeno Template:Flagicon ESP Manuel Orantes ||6-7, 6-4, 7-6
style="background:#ffa07a;" ||Defeat ||7-6 ||February 1972 ||Los Angeles, California, US || ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon USA Jim Osborne (tennis) Template:Flagicon USA Jim McManus (tennis) ||2-6, 7-5, 4-6
style="background:#98fb98;" ||Victory ||8-6 ||March 1972 ||Hampton Grand Prix ||Indoor hardcourt ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon ESP Andrés Gimeno Manuel Orantes ||6-4, 7-6
style="background:#98fb98;" ||Victory ||9-6 ||April 1972 ||Italian Open (tennis) ||Clay court ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon AUS Lew Hoad Frew McMillan ||3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-3 RET.
style="background:#ffa07a;" ||Defeat ||9-7 ||May 1972 ||Bournemouth, England ||Clay surface ||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase ||Template:Flagicon RSA Frew McMillan Bob Hewitt||5-7, 2-6
style="background:#ffa07a;" ||Defeat||9-8||June 1972||Hamburg,Germany||Clay court||Template:Flagicon RSA Bob Hewitt||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase Jan Kodeš||6-4,0-6,6-3,2-6,2-6
style="background:#98fb98;"||Victory||10-8||August 1972||Montreal, Canada||Clay surface||Template:Flagicon ROu 1965 Ilie Năstase||Template:Flagicon TCH Jan Kodeš Jan Kukal||7-6, 6-3

Outcome	W-L	Date	Event	Surface	Partner	Opponents	-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|"10-9"|"February 1973"|"Des Moines"|"Hardcourt"|"" "Juan Gisbert"|"" "Jan Kukal" " " "" "Jiří Hřebec"|"06-04", "06-07", "01-06" |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|"10-10"|"March 1973"|"Hampton"|"Hardcourt"|"" "Jimmy Connors"|"" "Ilie Năstase" " "" "Clark Graebner"|"06-04", "06-07", "01-06" |-	style=background:#98fb98;|"Victory"|"11-10"|"March 1973"|"Valencia"|"Clay court"|"" "Mike Estep"|"" "Patrick Hombergen" " "" "Bernard Mignot"|"06-04", "01-06", "10-08" |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|"11-11"|"April 1973"|"Barcelona"|"Clay surface"|"" "Mike Estep"|"" "Manuel Orantes" " "" "Juan Gisbert"|"04-06", "06-07" |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|"11-12"|"May 1973"|"Bournemouth"|"Clay court"|"" "Adriano Panatta"|"" "Ilie Năstase" " "" "Juan Gisbert"|"04-06", "06-08" |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|11−13|||June 1973|||Hamburg|||Clay||| Manuel Orantes||| Hans-Jürgen Pohmann Jürgen Fassbender|||06−07, 06−07, 06−07 |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|"Defeat"|11−14|||June 1973|||Eastbourne|||Grasscourt||| Manuel Orantes||| Jim McManus Ove Nils Bengtson|||04−06, 06−04, 05−07 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'|'12−14'|'August 1973'|'Louisville'|'Clay'||'Manuel Orantes'|'Clark Graebner John Newcombe'|'00−06', '06−04', '06−03' |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|'Defeat'|'12−15'|'August 1973'|'Indianapolis'|'Clay'||'Manuel Orantes'|'Frew McMillan Bob Carmichael'|'03−06', '04−06' |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'|'13−15'|'March 1974'|'São Paulo WCT, Brazil'|'Indoor carpet'||'Adriano Panatta'|'Ove Nils Bengtson Björn Borg'|'7−5', '3−6', '6−3' |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'|'14−15'|'January 1977'|'Baltimore'|'Carpet'||'Guillermo Vilas'|'Ross Case Jan Kodeš'|'06−03', '06−07', '06−04' |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|'Defeat'|'14−16'|'February 1977'|'Springfield'|'Carpet'||'Guillermo Vilas'|'Frew McMillan Bob Hewitt'|'06−07', '06−02' |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'|'15−16'|'March 1977'|'Nice'|'Clay'||'Guillermo Vilas'|'Chris Kachel Chris Lewis'|'06−04', '06−01' |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|'Defeat'|'15−17'|'July 1977'|'South Orange'||Clay||Guillermo Vilas||Colin Dibley Wojciech Fibak||01−06', '05−07 |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|'Defeat'||15−18'||September 1977'||Paris'||Clay'||Ilie Năstase'||Jacques Thamin Christophe Roger-Vasselin'||02−06', '06−04', '03−06 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'||16−18'||September 1977'||Aix-en-Provence Open'||Clay'||Ilie Năstase'||Patrice Dominguez Rolf Norberg'||07−05', '07−06 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'||17−18'||October 1977'||Tehran'||Clay'||Guillermo Vilas'||Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan'||01−06', '06−01', '06−04 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'||18−18'||November 1977'||Buenos Aires'||Clay'||Guillermo Vilas'||Ricardo Cano Antonio Muñoz'||06−04', '06−00 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'||19−18'||May 1978'||BMW Open (Munich)||Clay'||Guillermo Vilas'||Jürgen Fassbender Tom Okker'||03−06', '06−04', '07−06 |-	style=background:#ffa07a;|'Defeat'||19−19'||July 1978'||South Orange||Clay||Guillermo Vilas||John McEnroe Peter Fleming||03−06', '03−06 |-	style=background:#98fb98;|'Victory'||20−19SeptemberAix-en-ProvenceFrance||||Guillermo VilasJan KodešTomáš Šmíd||||Various scores

Tournament performance timeline

bgcolor="#EFEFEF" align="left"| US National Championships/US Open||A||A||A||A||bgcolor="#AFEEEE"|2R||A||bgcolor="#AFEEEE"|2R||bgcolor="#AFEEEE"|2R||bgcolor="#AFEEEE"|3R||A||A||A colspan ="2 "|A|||A|||bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|0 /4|||bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|5 -4|||bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|55.55 bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|align ="left "|Win-loss record||||||||||||||||||||bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|32 -25|||bgcolor ="#EFEFEF "|56.14

Event	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	SR	W-L record	Winning percentage %
Grand Slam events
Australian Open (formerly Australian Championships)	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	2R	A	1R	0 / 2	1–2	33.33
French Open (formerly French Championships)	3R	3R	3R	QF	2R	4R	1R	1R	2R	A	A	A	A		A	0 / 9	15–9	62.50
Wimbledon Championships	A	1R	4R	2R	2R	2R	3R	4R	A	1R	1R	A	A		1R	0 /10	11–10	52.38

Business ventures

• Țiriac Holdings
• Ion Țiriac Air
• Allianz-Tiriac Insurance Romania
• TiriacAuto
• Tiriac Leasing
• Tir Travel (previously known as Tiriac Travel)

Related topics

• Capital Top 300 wealthiest men in Romania

External resources

• Template:ATP
• Template:Tennis Hall of Fame
• Template:ITF
• Template:Davis Cup player
• Forbes World's Billionaires #840
• Ion Tiriac: Tennis’s Most Notorious Figure – The New York Times June 24,1993