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.
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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.”
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.”
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley will head to America as head of the USTA.Credit: Fiona Hamilton, Tennis Australia
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’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.
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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.
The USTA contacted Tiley about its vacancy after last year’s US Open.
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.
The Australian Open has become a summer juggernaut.Credit: Eddie Jim
Tennis Australia’s chief tennis officer Tom Larner is also widely viewed as a favourite to earn a promotion.
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.
Tiley had no doubt that the right choice could come from within. “I think there’s great choices within the team,” he said. “But I’m going to leave that to the board. It’s their ultimate decision.
“We’re very lucky. If you look at our board, the diversity of our board, the expertise of our board … I think most sports globally would look at that board on a skill and expertise [level] and say, ‘Wow, how do we get to that point’.”
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.
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However, TA’s development performance remains a polarising topic among its community.
Tiley, who started in performance and played a major role in participation, including the introduction of Hot Shots, said the organisation had come a long way since he first arrived, when there were only a handful of Australian men and women in the top 200.
There is a group of emerging women starting to break through after a barren period outside former world No.1 Ash Barty’s grand slam success, but there is concern about the men’s stocks behind top-10 star Alex de Minaur.
“The [player pathway] structure is solid. It ebbs and flows,” Tiley said.
“Every country, every nation, goes in cycles. I ran performance for a long time, and I know fairly well that you don’t respond too quickly to a bad cycle, where you’ve got to change everything. The most important thing is to have consistency.”
Asked if he held any regrets, Tiley said: “You know … if I want to get something done I don’t stop going for it, and I don’t accept no as an answer, so that can be difficult for people at times. But I hope I’ve done it respectfully.
“You’ll have to ask other people if I’ve rubbed them up the wrong way. I’ve put the [Melbourne Park] precinct under the pump on things that we need. I’ve always done it personally, never publicly.”
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