MELBOURNE, Australia — Tennis Australia has hired Andrew Abdo from the National Rugby League to replace Craig Tiley as chief executive officer.
The Australian governing bodies for both sports confirmed the move in a statement on Monday.
Tiley announced in February that he was leaving his role as Australian Open tournament director and CEO of Tennis Australia to join the United States Tennis Association, which runs the US Open.
Mr Tiley, a South African, became tournament director of the Australian Open in 2006, overseeing its expansion to a 15-day event and breaking attendance and revenue records. He became CEO of Tennis Australia in 2013.
Mr Abdo, also from South Africa, has been with the Australian NRL since 2013, first as chief commercial officer and since 2020 as chief executive officer. He played a pivotal role in helping the league navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and its spread and development.
“Tennis Australia plays a unique role in Australian sport, and the Australian Open is already one of the world’s premier sporting events,” Abdo said in a statement. “The opportunity is to continue to evolve it as a global event, as a fan experience and as a platform to bring more people into the sport.”
Tennis Australia said its global recruitment attracted more than 150 candidates, and Abdo stood out for his leadership track record in the high-profile domestic league.
“Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the country, and participation is growing,” Tiley said in a statement. “We have a great group of players performing at the highest level and we have a world-class team developing the next generation of talented players and coaches.”
Australian tennis great Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion and two-time Davis Cup winner, urged Abdo to prioritize player development Down Under, a grassroots sport.
In a post on social media, Mr Cash questioned the strength of his path to the domestic elite level, writing: “Can the NRL commercial executives repair the heart and soul of tennis in Oz? Best of luck to Andrew.”
While the Australian Open continues to expand and innovate and is a huge commercial success, Mr Cash wants the sport’s national organizers to pay more attention to “the remaining 49 weeks of the year”.
The Australian Open is currently regularly held in late January and is the first of tennis’s four Grand Slam tournaments on the calendar, following the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
