Australian Open director Tiley named US tennis chief

Craig Tiley has been appointed as the new chief executive of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) after 13 years at Tennis Australia.

Former Australian Open tournament director and Tennis Australia chief executive Tiley will replace Lew Sherr, who has joined Major League Baseball's New York Mets.

South African Tiley, 64, will formally assume his responsibilities at USTA later this year after helping to ensure a smooth transition of leadership at Tennis Australia.

Tiley, a former college coach in the United States, said: "I've long admired the organisation's leadership in growing the game across the United States and the extraordinary success of the US Open.

"I'm excited to return to American tennis and to work alongside our leadership locally and nationally to continue building the sport's reach, impact, and future."

Tiley championed innovation during his time as tournament director the Australian Open, overseeing its expansion to a 15-day event and this year hosting the inaugural Million Dollar One Point Slam.

The tournament also continually broke attendance and revenue records during his tenure, welcoming more than 1.3 million fans during this year's event.

Tiley was head coach of the University of Illinois men's tennis team between 1994 and 2005, winning the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2003 with a perfect 32–0 record.

"From the very beginning of this process, our top priority was identifying the right leader to accelerate participation growth and help us achieve our goal of reaching 35 million players by 2035," said USTA chair Brian Vahaly.

"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. That balance is exactly what this moment requires."