USTA appoints Craig Tiley as Chief Executive Officer

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) today announced the appointment of Craig Tiley, the accomplished Chief Executive Officer of Tennis Australia, as its next Chief Executive Officer. Tiley is widely recognized for driving monumental growth in tennis participation during his tenure in the role in Australia. His distinguished career spans successful leadership in collegiate coaching, running community tennis, and administration of the Australian Open. 

Craig Tiley added, “I am truly honored to step into the role of CEO of the USTA later this year. I’ve long admired the organization’s leadership in growing the game across the United States and the extraordinary success of the US Open. Tennis has shaped my life — personally and professionally — and having begun my tennis journey in the U.S. as an NCAA championship coach, this opportunity feels like a full-circle moment. I’m excited to return to American tennis and to work alongside our leadership locally and nationally to continue building the sport’s reach, impact, and future.”

A native of South Africa, Tiley's professional journey includes a deep history in American tennis. As the Head Coach of the University of Illinois men’s tennis team from 1994 to 2005, he guided the team to an NCAA Division I National Championship in 2003 with a perfect 32–0 record. Tiley was twice honored as the Wilson/ITA Division I National Coach of the Year and was inducted into the ITA Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame. 

Tiley brings a track record of success in all facets of grassroots tennis growth. During his tenure, tennis became the second most participated sport behind soccer in Australia. In 2025 the sport had 8.3 percent growth, more than any other sport. Over the last five years, online court bookings tripled and overall participation grew by 30 percent. Coach membership grew 44 percent over the last five years and female coaches grew by 60 percent - now representing 33 percent of the total coaching workforce in Australia. 

As CEO of Tennis Australia since 2013 and Australian Open Tournament Director since 2006, Tiley has been a globally recognized champion for innovation and player-first initiatives. Under his leadership, the Australian Open continually broke attendance and revenue records, becoming one of the world's most innovative and successful global sporting events. 

“Tennis is one of the few truly global sports that you can play for a lifetime, at any level, and that’s part of its magic,” said Tiley. “It has an incredible ability to bring people together — players, fans, communities — across countries and cultures. I firmly believe the opportunity ahead for our sport is enormous. We’re moving from engaging millions who attend events live to connecting with billions of fans around the world digitally, year-round. If we continue to innovate and tell the story of our sport in a compelling way, tennis will only grow stronger, more connected, and more impactful in the years ahead.”

Tiley will take the helm of an organization that is well on its way in pursuit of a purpose-driven mission — “Growing tennis to inspire healthier people and communities everywhere” — and has established incredible momentum toward achieving its goal of reaching 35 million players in the United States by 2035. He joins the USTA during a period of unprecedented growth, with tennis participation surging to a new high of 27.3 million players in 2025 – the sixth consecutive year of growth for the game in the U.S. Since 2019, tennis in America has grown by 54 percent – adding nearly 10 million players – with these latest increases driven by more play occasions, more players coming and staying in the sport and strong momentum from play by women and communities of color.