Tiley propelled Australian Open to current heights through limitless ambition and brute force, but a stronger player pipeline would be welcome
Craig Tiley arrived as Tennis Australia’s director of tennis in 2005 and, two decades and two high-profile roles later, will leave behind a complex and formidable legacy.
The Australian Open, which he has overseen since his 2006 appointment as tournament director, has expanded into the acclaimed event that dominates the sporting landscape each January. As chief executive of TA since 2013, Tiley’s dual roles have extended his influence beyond the grand slam’s monster success.
Entirely Tiley? No, but the highest-paid sports administrator in the country has built both an impressive empire and a reputation as a political maestro. A bold innovator with limitless ambition for himself and the event shaped in his player-accommodating vision.
By most measures – attendance, eyeballs, prize money, athletes’ praise – Tiley built on the solid foundations he inherited to transform the Australian Open into a colossal entertainment and sport event. Probably in that order too, entertainment then sport, for on-court offerings have long been just one part of a package that is now more about music, food and partying than serves and backhands.
