A Wimbledon finalist and a former World No.1 was also a notorious womaniser who initially claimed to have slept with 400 women after initally claiming a different number
Former Wimbledon finalist Ilie Nastase confessed to bedding at least 400 women during his prime as tennis’ ultimate playboy.
The ex-World No. 1 mastered his craft on grass courts as a two-time Wimbledon runner-up. He claimed both the US Open in 1972 and the French Open in 1973, establishing himself as the sport’s top player for 40 weeks in the ATP rankings.
Yet Nastase previously boasted of sleeping with 2,500 women in his autobiography before meeting his first of numerous wives, though he later confessed that figure might be a considerably more humble 400 or so after exaggerating the original number as a marketing trick to boost sales.
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The tennis icon, who has walked down the aisle five times, backtracked on the enormous figure years afterwards. He previously revealed to the Daily Mail about the lifestyle he embraced: “I like women. I love women. It is normal to love a woman.
“No, no, no [2,500 women]! It wasn’t that many. It was exaggerated for my autobiography. They wanted a big number – to make it sell better.”
Nevertheless, when pressed for the actual total, the former World No. 1 still delivered a brilliant response. He added: “‘I don’t know – 300, 400? I never added them up – it didn’t feel right.
“How could I remember? Anyway, what does it matter – 2,500 or 500, they’re not going to give me a medal, are they? And there were a lot of misses.
“I didn’t score. Sometimes I’m very tired because I have to play tennis. And a lot of people turn me down!” Nastase’s boast didn’t escape attention, and he secured the sixth spot on Maxim’s “Living Sex Legends” list.
At that point, Nastase was wed to his third wife, Romanian model Amalia Teodosescu – whom he had met at a Sting gig in 2004.
When she learnt of Nastase’s boast, Amalia allegedly remarked she was “happy to have conquered such a man”. The couple split in 2010 following six years of wedlock. The father-of-five has wed twice more – initially to Romanian fashion model Brigitte Sfat in 2013.
Following the end of their union in 2018, he tied the knot with Ioana Simion – three decades his junior – in 2019.
Nastase also went on to reveal he was fond of doubles off the court. “Oh yes! I didn’t make it to three, unfortunately – my maximum was two. I usually like to play one-on-one, but if that situation should happen, you don’t want to turn it down. Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m not stupid!”