Australia chief Wood steps down after eight years

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tennis Australia chief executive Steve Wood will step down next month after eight years in the job and be replaced by Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, the sporting body said on Thursday.

Wood restructured Australia tennis to put it on a firm financial footing and oversaw the development of the Australian Open into one of the strongest tournaments in the world.

While there was success in the women's game in his time in charge when Sam Stosur won the U.S. Open in 2011, Australia's long wait for another men's grand slam champion continues.

Wood said he wanted to take a break.

"It has been an incredible time," he said in a news release. "We have achieved so much. I think the platform has been established and it is now time for an intensified push to reinvigorate every element of Australian tennis."

Tennis Australia president Steve Healy paid tribute to Wood's "creative and progressive" leadership and said Tiley was his natural successor.

"Steve's departure will coincide with a renewed focus on strengthening the foundations of the sport throughout Australia," Healy said.

"Steve's legacy is that tennis is well-positioned commercially and structurally to take on these challenges."

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Greg Stutchbury)


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world