WTA chief executive appointed only in June 2024
Tour needs to fine new venue for flagship event
A number of top players on the WTA tour expressed their surprise at the abrupt decision by WTA chief executive, Portia Archer, to resign from her role this week after two years at the helm.
“I heard literally two minutes ago, so I really don’t know why now and everything,” said Iga Swiatek after winning her first-round match 6-1, 6-2 against Daria Snigur at the Madrid Open. “We always had a good relationship. I felt like she listened to what we had to say and was really open-minded.”
An experienced sports executive who previously worked in the NBA’s G League, Archer was appointed CEO of the WTA in June 2024. She took her role months before the WTA Finals, the tour’s flagship year-end event, began its first of three years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The three-year deal expires this year and will probably move on from Saudi Arabia after the kingdom chose not to renew it, with the search begun for a new location in 2027.
