Hot shots: The contenders for Craig Tiley’s job at Tennis Australia

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Craig Tiley has confirmed after months of speculation that he will leave Australia for a new job at the United States Tennis Association, explaining that family and a desire for a fresh challenge played a part in his decision.

The Tennis Australia chief executive and Australian Open boss, who transformed the grand slam during his two decades at the helm, told this masthead he did not make his decision to leave until after this year’s Open ended in February.

The final call was based on a combination of reasons, including a new challenge in a significant market with room to grow.

His wife Ali’s family lives in Chicago, and Tiley said he wanted their children – Marlowe, 13, and twins Archer and Weston, 12 – to experience living close to family, given they did not have any relatives in Australia.

“It’s been a great ride here – 20 years, including 13 years as the CEO. That’s a long journey, although COVID was a big disruption,” Tiley, who previously lived in the US and had major success coaching the University of Illinois in college tennis, said.

Tiley said laying the foundations for performance and participation, transforming the Australian Open into a sporting and entertainment leviathan, and surviving the COVID era were his greatest achievements in the dual role.

He credited building a high-performing team around him as a key plank to his success.

“We were the only event globally that continued to go each year under the circumstances we did [including hotel quarantine and strict conditions], and do what we did in an environment that was the most difficult globally,” Tiley said.

“I was very proud of what we achieved there. We came out of that, and our annual growth rate is 15 per cent year-on-year in the last 10 years. There are very few companies in Australia that can match that.”

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The USTA announced Tiley’s appointment on Wednesday morning (AEDT), with board chair and interim co-CEO Brian Vahaly saying the organisation had prioritised finding a new leader who could accelerate participation growth and help achieve its goal of reaching 35 million players by 2035.

“Craig brings a rare combination of global credibility at the highest level of the sport and a proven commitment to growing the game at the grassroots,” Vahaly said.

“That balance is exactly what this moment requires. As we look to fully leverage the power of the US Open as a platform for inspiration and growth, Craig’s leadership and understanding of the entire tennis ecosystem will be invaluable.

“We are excited to build on our current momentum of six consecutive years of participation growth, and we are confident he is the right leader to guide American tennis into its next chapter.”

There had been significant speculation about Tiley’s future since Sportico reported in December that USTA officials were in advanced talks with the South African-born powerbroker to be the organisation’s new CEO, replacing Lew Sherr, who accepted a job at the New York Mets.

Tiley will remain in his current role for the next few months and be part of the process to find his successor, or successors, if TA’s board chooses to split the positions into CEO and Australian Open boss again.

Tiley’s defection to the USTA, which runs the US Open, ends his more than two-decade association with Australian tennis, beginning as TA’s director of player development in 2005.

He became the Australian Open’s tournament director the next year before taking over as TA’s CEO in 2013. The Melbourne-based grand slam has become an enormous event, including a record 1,368,043 fans attending this year’s Open across three weeks.

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The USTA contacted Tiley about its vacancy after last year’s US Open, which finished in September.

Among the top candidates to replace him as Australian Open tournament director is Brit Stephen Farrow, who is the organisation’s chief events officer.

Farrow is tournament director of the United Cup and was previously director of international events at Great Britain’s governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association, during which he served as tournament director of the Queen’s Club Championships.

Another option is Peter Johnston, who was involved in running the Australian Open alongside Tiley and his predecessor Paul McNamee, and still oversees a number of ATP and WTA events, as well as the Kooyong Classic.

Cameron Pearson has impressed with his work at the Brisbane International, and could also be in the mix.

Tennis Australia’s chief tennis officer Tom Larner is widely viewed as the favourite to earn a promotion to CEO if Tiley’s dual role is split.

Another contender is Craig Morris, an Australian who has worked at the USTA for the past decade, currently as CEO of coaching after being involved in community tennis initially.

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“We’ve laid out our strategy until 2030, so we’ve laid out what we need to do to operationalise that,” Tiley said.

“We’ve already decided our hero initiatives each year, and we’ve done so much groundwork that it’s going to be in great shape – and ’27 will be a bigger year than ’26.

“I’m very excited about the future of TA, and I would not be leaving if it was in bad shape, or it needed someone to put it in good shape. We’re leaving when it’s at the top of its opportunity to perform, but it’s also the first foundation of the next level it’s going to go to.

“It’s been the highlight of my career, and I think it’s going to be perfectly well.”

Tiley summed up the top priorities for the person who succeeds him as Australian Open boss as the “four S’s”: more seats, more shade, more space and more screens.

There are already discussions between TA, the Victorian government and Collingwood Football Club officials about the Open expanding across the road from Melbourne Park into Olympic Park.

However, TA’s development performance remains a polarising topic among its community.

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