Tennis NSW took no action for a year after it was told its top coach could be sexually abusing young female players.
And then after an internal investigation it decided against sanctioning the alleged offender, Noel Callaghan, who was state head coach as well as head coach with the Institute of Sport in 1999.
Tennis NSW general manager at the time, Craig Watson, told the sex abuse royal commission on Friday he did not act on the complaints because he was probably waiting for an official complaint.
The following year Mr Watson became CEO of Tennis NSW and now works with Tennis Australia.
A former assistant state coach and world No.138, Amanda Chaplin (nee Tobin), raised the concerns in 1998 and was called to a meeting with Mr Callaghan, who was her boss, and Mr Watson.
Nothing happened and Ms Chaplin said she was later victimised and threatened for coming forward and quit Tennis NSW.
Mr Callaghan has always denied the allegations and was never convicted of sexually molesting female players.
Mr Watson said he did not bring Ms Chaplin's concerns to the board in 1998 because he was waiting for an official complaint from the victim.
Commission chair Peter McClellan reminded him the complainant was a child and Mr Watson said "in hindsight" the wait was not a good idea.
He denied several times he took no action because he was hoping the matter would go away.
Mr Watson was questioned about an interview he, then Tennis NSW president John Whittaker and lawyer Maria Shand conducted in 1999 with BXJ - one of three players alleging Mr Callaghan indecently assaulted them.
Earlier on Friday BXJ's mother cried as she talked about her daughter's "extreme distress" after the interview.
The young player gave up the sport she loved and has been seriously ill, primarily because of Tennis NSW's handling of the matter, her mother said.
BXJ's mother and Ms Chaplin spoke of a closed culture within Tennis NSW where people were subject to malicious gossip and ostracised.
The transcript of the interview was tendered on Friday and shows the lawyer "was trying to see if there was any basis for derogatory comments" allegedly made by Mr Callaghan about BXJ.
Mr Watson said he remembers BXJ being very distressed but at the time it did not strike him the questioning was inappropriate.
The transcript shows BXJ was asked about the length of her tennis shorts and if she had run away from home to be with boys on a beach.
It was also revealed on Friday that Ms Shand had advised Tennis NSW that more likely than not "the allegations made by (BXJ) are true".
Her mother said she or her daughter only learned of this advice through the commission - 16 years after the alleged abuse.
After seeking a second legal opinion in 1999 Tennis NSW did not take any action against Mr Callaghan.
Mr Watson returns to the witness stand on Monday.
