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NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo is widely expected to be Tennis Australia’s new boss in the post-Craig Tiley era.
The NRL has called a media conference for Monday afternoon to confirm Abdo’s resignation. Tennis Australia did not respond to this masthead’s requests for comment.
The expectation within rugby league circles is that Abdo, who was the NRL’s CEO for six years and the organisation’s chief commercial officer before that, will be Tiley’s successor as Australian tennis’ new main man.
Abdo oversaw a successful period in rugby league that included record crowd attendances and TV ratings, as well as the historic decision to play annual games in Las Vegas since 2024.
Tiley, who has taken over as the United States Tennis Association’s CEO, held the dual roles of TA CEO and Australian Open tournament director, and was adamant when he announced he was leaving in February that his successor should also fill both positions.
He was part of the process in selecting his replacement.
TA’s chief tennis officer Tom Larner was considered a strong contender, particularly as an internal candidate with extensive understanding of TA’s operations and having worked under Tiley.
Tiley told this masthead that the top priorities for his successor as Australian Open boss were the “four Ss”: 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.
The exact structure and any further potential changes at Tennis Australia remain to be seen, but 11 of the country’s best men’s tennis players are lobbying for former Victorian Liberal Deputy Leader Sam Groth to score a senior leadership position.
Tiley’s defection to the USTA was first touted in December, but he told this masthead that he did not make up his mind until after this year’s Australian Open.
He oversaw extraordinary growth at the Melbourne-based grand slam, in particular, transforming the tournament into an entertainment extravaganza far beyond just tennis that drew almost 1.4 million people across the three-week event this past January.
But Tiley departs at a time when Australia’s talent pathway, including chief strategy officer Tim Jolley’s position, is being questioned, with dwindling prospects on the men’s side.
There were calls from various quarters, including Tiley’s predecessor Paul McNamee in an interview with The Age, for TA to appoint multiple people instead of the successful candidate being responsible for both roles.
More to come
